Guest Post: Thoughts on the College name change Aug. 24, 2016 Guest Post, Engagement, Tech Talk

Guest Post: Thoughts on the College name change

As many of you will know, I had the opportunity of sitting at the College Board table, first as a pharmacy technician observer in 2010 and then as the District 8 representative until February of this year. I am very proud to have been a part of the progress the College made over the years – especially when it comes to the role of pharmacy technicians. During that time, the College introduced pharmacy technicians as registrants, helped build awareness of the Pharmacy Technician Bridging Program, increased the presence of pharmacy technicians on College committees, and recognized the need to change the College’s name.

I am very passionate about the need to change the College’s name. As a governing body that is accountable to the public, it is important that the name of the organization reflect the full scope of work that it does. With the advent of pharmacy technician regulation in 2010, it became essential that the College name expressed the full scope of its responsibility.  

Changing the College name has a number of strengths. It fully integrates pharmacy technicians into the College and closes the 6-year loop from when we first became regulated. It reinforces our key role in the profession, and lets the public know that both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are regulated health professionals who are held equally accountable.

It is also important to note that the College's name has not been static through time. While the College can trace its genesis to the forming of the Pharmaceutical Society of BC in 1891, numerous legislative changes have fundamentally altered both the duties of the College and the way it is governed. It was not until 1974 that the College received its current name.

The new College name should follow the naming conventions of other regulatory organizations across the province. Examples of naming conventions include role-specific references (e.g. Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC) or general professional references (e.g. Association of BC Forest Professionals).

The College cannot change its own name; it has to submit a case to the Legislature to be considered. The College name is defined in a number of Acts, including the Health Professions Act, and any mention of it would have to be amended. As such, it’s hard to predict the timing of when the change would take effect. Nonetheless, it is time to move forward. We’re being asked to share our thoughts, and we need to take this opportunity to tell the College how we feel.

Please tell the College how you feel about a proposed name change: http://fluidsurveys.com/s/CPBC-Name_Change/

The College’s name change survey closes September 5, at 5PM.