CSHBC has finalized development of a Hearing Instrument Dispensing (HID) Competency Profile for British Columbia. The CSHBC Board has approved the profile as a core standard of practice.
The profile includes a preamble with definitions, a set of essential professional competencies for each of seven HID roles, and related sub-competencies for the roles. Together, these profile components provide detailed information about the minimum entry level abilities required of all Registered Hearing Instrument Practitioners (RHIPs) entering practice in BC.
Read the Hearing Instrument Dispensing Competency Profile (PDF)
RHIPs identify, assess, treat, and (re)habilitate hearing disorders especially as they pertain to hearing instruments. RHIPs help preserve and (re)habilitate auditory function in adult individuals by recommending, selecting, preparing, altering, adapting, verifying, selling, and offering to sell hearing instruments.
CSHBC started developing the HID Competency Profile in September 2018. In the developmental phase, there was extensive participation of subject matter experts (SMEs) from across the province, who represented a diversity of experience and areas of practice.
The validation phase of this work included participation by clinicians and academics from across BC, who responded to a survey in February 2019 on the essential competencies. In Spring 2019, a working group – comprised of clinicians, academics, and CSHBC Board and staff members – provided feedback on the sub-competencies.
CSHBC completed the provincial HID competency profile in May 2019, and the CSHBC Board approved and adopted the profile in June 2019. CSHBC thanks all individuals who participated in this important work, which supports the goal of safe and effective practice. The College is grateful for the time, effort, and expertise dedicated to this process.
National Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Competency Profiles
The BC HID profile complements National Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Competency Profiles completed by the Canadian Alliance of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Regulators (CAASPR) in April 2018 with support from SMEs, including representatives from CSHBC and other regulated jurisdictions. The CSHBC Board accepted the national profiles in principle in June 2018.
- Read the National Audiology Competency Profile (PDF)
- Read the National Speech-Language Pathology Competency Profile (PDF)
CSHBC based the development of the BC HID profile on the approach taken by CAASPR of involving a wide range of SMEs when developing the National Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Competency Profiles.
The two national Competency Profiles are key components of CAASPR’s Centralization and Capacity Building Project, a project funded by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
Working together as the Hearing Instrument Practitioners Alliance of Canada (HIPAC), HID regulators in BC, Alberta, and Ontario are working toward securing project funding from ESDC. The goal of the project is to harmonize the registration processes for hearing instrument practitioners across the three jurisdictions to enable standardized outcomes, enhanced public safety, and improved labour mobility. Adapting the BC Competency Profile across the regulated jurisdictions will be a key component of the project.