Continuing Competence Program

Preparing a Professional Portfolio is mandatory. A portfolio provides a record of a dietitian’s practice and makes it easier for dietitians to assess his/her employment and professional activities and to plan for professional development.

The portfolio may have other uses (e.g. preparing for job/ promotion interviews, on-line professional profile, etc.) Once established, a portfolio is readily maintained and updated. It can be updated with Learning Activities collected over the course of the CCP reporting year

A Professional portfolio may include, but is not limited to:

• A current resume or CV
• Job description(s) or brief summary(ies) of responsibilities of position(s) held
• Professional performance assessment(s) from employer(s), colleague(s), client(s), mentor(s), etc.
• Letters of thanks or support from students, colleagues, clients or clients’ families
• Letters of reference
• Resources developed
• Policies and procedures to standardize practice
• Announcements of or handouts from presentations to colleagues about conferences attended
• Copies of published journal or professional newsletter articles
• Evidence of professional volunteer service (e.g. Board, committee or working group participation)
• Evidence of awards, certificates, diplomas and degrees conferred
• Formal education transcripts for baccalaureate and post baccalaureate studies
• Evidence of completion of dietetic practicum and/or professional certificate programs
• Journaling, scrapbook or other
• Documentation outlining search for or pursuit of areas of interest to explore
• Completed Professional Development Reports
• Professional discussion with colleagues on best practice, anecdotal experience etc.
• Other documents of personal relevance

Self-assessment provides dietitians with a systematic way to compare their practice to CDBC Standards of Practice. It also helps identify areas where dietitians perform well, as well as others they want to maintain, develop or enhance. Completing this process is the first step towards identifying continuing education learning goals for the Professional Development Report.

At the beginning of renewal year, dietitians carefully review the Standards of Practice and Indicators (Self-assessment section of the online CCP).

Dietitians can complete the self-assessment independently or with mentors, colleagues or peers (collective input can help identify professional development options and opportunities).

Registrants must identify and address a minimum of 3 different standards/indicators of practice of 17 available. A registrant registered with Restricted Activity A, B, and/or C, must identify and address a standard/indicator specific to enteral/parenteral nutrition.

Standards/Indicators of practice are identified by answering “yes” to the questions on the online Self-assessment. Once standards/indicators are identified, registrants must develop a Learning Report for each individual standard/indicator.

For example, dietitians may choose:

• Three different indicators within the same Standard of Practice (e.g. Standards 4.1, 4.2, 4.3), or
• Three different standards and indicators (e.g. Standards 1.2, 2.3, 4.3)

Dietitians click “yes” for standards/ indicators they plan to work on during the year. Here, dietitians can also make brief notes about their professional performance indicating areas of strength and where they want to maintain or develop their abilities/performance

Note: any standard/indicators marked “yes” will automatically display in blue as goals to be addressed in the Professional Development report.

In each Learning Report, describe a Learning Goal as it relates to the registrant’s practice of the indicator. Each Learning Report should have a different Learning Goal.

Learning Goals should follow SMART principles:

1. Specific: focused on specific learning outcomes
2. Measurable: can be demonstrated by observable/measurable improvement in learning.
3. Achievable: must have appropriate knowledge, skills and abilities needed to achieve the goal within context and timeline.
4. Result-focused: will result in measured outcomes, not activities
5. Time-bound: may be completed within the year.

For each Learning Goal, identify a minimum of two Learning Activities. Formal and informal Learning Activities are accepted. Enter Learning Activities into the PDR regularly. These can be added to your Professional Portfolio.

Provide specific details for each Learning Activity such as the title and date of a lecture, or a specific area of internet research.

Examples of formal learning

• university, college or other accredited courses.
• accredited certificate programs.
• self-directed or distance learning programs.
• residency and fellowship.

Examples of informal learning

• published articles.
• internet or literature research.
• professional reading, relevant films, audio or video recordings, webinars.
• in-service education experiences.
• research projects and presentations of research results.
• workshops, conferences, exhibits, lectures, seminars.
• study, journal or discussion groups.
• case studies/case presentations.
• professional interactions with others including preparation for and participation in mentor or preceptor roles.
• mentorship/coaching/shadowing with other professionals.

Registrants briefly describe the knowledge and skills acquired by achieving the Learning Goal and why that knowledge and/or skills helped their practice of the standard/indicator.

Completed CCP reports will only be accepted from March 1-31 to correspond with registration renewal. However, you can access your CCP via the website at any time. Here, you can add Learning Activities in the Professional Portfolio. For more information about your Professional Portfolio, see Q3. All education opportunities used for Learning Activities must be in a one-year window from April 1-March 31.

At any time, in SkilSure, you can also access the Self-Assessment, which helps you identify which Standards of Practice you wish to report on. And finally, you can access the Professional Development Report, where you create and revise SMART goals, report on the Learning Activities in your portfolio that helped you to achieve your goals, and comment on the outcome of achieving your goal, in your practice.

On the CCP section of the website, you will find guidance regarding the Continuing Competence Program (CCP) expectations and details of how to prepare your report.

If you were a dietetics student this past year before you became a full registrant, you are permitted to look back into your practicum to select learning opportunities that helped you achieve your goals. Your reporting period will be up to March 31.

If you are a new full registrant, perhaps via labour mobility, your report can reflect any goals and learning opportunities you have undertaken between the time you became registered as a Full Registrant and March 31^st.

In both cases, CDBC staff will not expect you to fulfill a full-years’ worth of continuing education as you are a new Full registrant with the College and will have the opportunity to complete a full year report in subsequent years.

Sample learning reports are in Q11 below. Here, you can have a look at examples of SMART goals that align with the Standards of Practice, which you can tailor to your shorter timeline. You can also see examples of learning activities and wording of learning outcomes and goal achievement.

You are encouraged to log into your SkilSure account and have a look at the reporting process. Start with the Self-Assessment, in which you will select 3 Standards and Indicators that align with your chosen goals. You may add to or edit this document at any time. The window to send your completed CCP is March 1-31, prior to filling out your online registration renewal forms.

You may also want to start a portfolio in which you collect learning activities. The portfolio is mandatory and is described in more detail on the CCP section of the website. If you need help to determine what might constitute a learning activity, please review other Q&As on the CCP section of the website. Some relevant learning activities can include on-the-job training, mentorship, formal or informal learning such as lunch and learn meetings with colleagues.

Registrants are NOT required to send in a yearly portfolio.

However, maintenance of a professional portfolio is mandatory and can be in any format. Use of the online SkilSure platform’s Professional Portfolio is NOT mandatory. There is no need to send the CDBC your portfolio unless it is requested and there are only a few circumstances in which this would occur. These include, but may not be limited to:

1. Per the Quality Assurance Program Framework, if you are selected for an audit and experience two missed attempts to successfully send your Professional Development Report (PDR), the Quality Assurance Committee may request that you send your portfolio for review.
2. If you are reinstating within three years of being off the register, policy Qac-02 Continuing Competence Requirement for Reinstatement Within Three (3) Years may require that you include your portfolio if you resigned without participating to the Continuing Competence Program: “Former registrants not participating in the CCP who are applying for reinstatement must: …complete the Professional Portfolio and Self-assessment relative to the Standards of Practice…[and send] all CCP documents to CDBC for review and approval.”

You can maintain your portfolio in any format you like. If you are requested to send it to the CDBC for either of the above reasons, or any other reason, you can use the SkilSure online Professional Portfolio and add items to it once requested or email it to the CDBC. In this circumstance, you would be given a timeline for providing your portfolio.

In the ‘Self Assessment Relative to Standards of Practice’ section on this page: “Registrants must identify and address a minimum of 3 different standards/indicators of practice of 17 available.” This is written to mean that while you can select three different standards, it is also fine to select the same standard for two or more goals, as long as you’ve selected different indicators.

If you select the same Standard/Indicator combination for two goals, the CDBC will only count it as one goal. Having two goals under the same Standard and Indicator is purely for your self-improvement and self-motivation. To satisfy College requirements, three goals must reflect a combination of three different Standard/Indicator combinations.

If you do select the same Standard/Indicator for two different PDRs, please note that when you select a particular indicator, one space will open up for you to report your Goal and one space will open up for your Learning Activities. Because you are planning to state two Goals, and two sets of Learning Activities, you will simply need to ensure that you are numbering your Goals (e.g., 1,2) and then appropriately numbering your Learning Activities (e.g., 1a, 1b etc., 2a, 2b etc.) so they correspond to the intended goal.

You can send your annual CCP anytime between March 1 and March 31, but remember that you may not renew your registration unless you have first sent your CCP. If you are among the 10% audited, you must pass your audit before renewing your registration. You are encouraged to send your CCP early in March such that there is sufficient time for you to make revisions in the event that your report is selected for audit.

 If your CCP is sent in after midnight on March 31, you will have to renew late and pay a late fee penalty.

 Every year, 10% of CCPs are audited. Audits are completed between March 1 and 31.

The auditors are looking for:

• A minimum of 3 Standard/Indicator combinations as selected in the Self-Assessment, resulting in a minimum of 3 learning reports, and collectively form the Professional Development Report (PDR).
• Each learning report includes a SMART learning goal that is based on the Standard/Indicator chosen in the Self-Assessment
• If a registrant is registered with Restricted Activities A and or C (EN related), one of their goals must be EN-related. If a registrant is registered with Restricted Activity B (PN related), one of their goals must be PN-related.
• A minimum of two learning activities per goal. An auditor is looking for relevance of each learning activity to its goal, that the activities are taking place within the reporting period, and that they are described in enough detail. For example, “Lit review” is not sufficient; an auditor would request a list of examples of journal articles that were read/reviewed.
• The learning outcome should be described in sufficient detail such that it is clear that the registrant reflected on their learning and how it impacted their practice of the Standard/Indicator.

It is not uncommon for one or more of the above criteria to be lacking sufficient information. In this case, the auditor would provide a detailed summary of the audit, including the area(s) that need to be improved upon. In the majority of the audits, minor changes on behalf of the registrant, followed by a resubmission of the CCP, results in passing the second attempt.

 If you are selected for an audit, you will receive a detailed letter explaining the audit results and any required follow up action such that you can resend. Once you have passed the audit, you may proceed to registration renewal.

The Quality Assurance Program Framework is a preventive process (educational and non-punitive) that allows dietitians to keep practicing while they provide information to the QA Committee about their practice and/or address aspects of practice that were found to need additional learning to meet the CDBC Standards of Practice. Random selection of audits follows a process of elimination annually, to ensure every registrant is audited over a period of 10 years.

For more information, you can watch the CCP and Restricted Activity Webinar, which will provide useful information even if you aren’t registered with Restricted Activities.

You can let your employer know that you are registered in good standing with the CDBC, which demonstrates active participation in and meeting of requirements of the CDBC Continuing Competence Program. Your employer can check your status on the Public Register.

You can also consider using your Self-assessment and Professional Development Report to show an employer how the services provided by the RD meet the Standards of Practice. The employer may be satisfied by reviewing learning goals and activities as they relate to the job description and maintaining competence in dietetic practice.

The CCP  is mandated under section 16(2)(e) of the Health Professions Act and section 58(3) of the CDBC bylaws. In 2007, the CDBC Board and Quality Assurance (QA) Committee initiated a CCP that is self-reflective as opposed to credit-based. The Board and the QA Committee determined that a credit-based system did not provide any information about an RD’s maintenance/ enhancement of their Standards of Practice. For example, an RD could attend several workshops, but not learn anything new. Research shows that collecting continuing education credits is not a guarantee that one is learning, maintaining currency in practice and/or improving practice. The self-reflective CCP enables registrants to individualize their learning and record learning progress from one reporting cycle to another and evaluate the contribution of their new knowledge & skills to their particular practice of dietetics. A dietitian’s Professional Development Report (PDR) must be specific.

A PDR will include a minimum of three different learning reports. Each learning report must relate to a specific standard and indicator of practice. It must include learning activities that are related to the standard/ indicator of practice. The learning report must show how these contribute to maintenance/ enhancement of an RD’s knowledge & skills as they relate to the practice of that standard/ indicator. This information can be found in the Continuing Competence Program section of the website, including the Self-assessment and Professional Development Report Guidelines.

The CCP is not a punitive program. If an RD does not meet the QA Committee’s Assessment Criteria for CCP  in the Self-Assessment Relative to Standards of Practice, the matter would be referred for review to the QA Committee. The Committee may ask the RD to complete remediation – courses, on-the-job training, etc. – and then re-assess the RD to ensure they meet the Standards of Practice. The Committee may also initate, in an “own motion complaint”, any safety concerns about an RD practice to the Inquiry Committee. Once a matter is referred to the Inquiry Committee, the complaint resolution process is followed (may be punitive). If CCP requirements are not met, registration cannot be renewed. The CCP is also a requirement for RDs who leave the register and plan to reinstate later.

Have you been or do you intend to renew as a Full registrant during this year?

If so, you must complete a CCP, as this is a requirement for all Full registrants.  Your goals can be small, achievable goals, indicating what you did to retain knowledge, or gain knowledge while you have been or are planning to be off.  Consider any learning you do. These activities may be largely informal and this is completely valid. The purpose of the CCP is to critically reflect on learning needs and opportunities, which is one of the most important indicators of success in promoting competence.

On April 1 annually, your next CCP will be available to you. It is recommended that, if you undertake any learning while on your leave, you begin to document and collect these learning activities right away. If you find that you cannot undertake much, if any, learning during your leave (with the recognition that it could be the entirety of your reporting period), you can look forward to determine activities you can undertake upon your return to work, in order to maintain your competence and to practice safely. You would then report on these planned activities in your 2023 CCP. For more information, it is highly recommended to read through Q17 of the Registration Q&A. Q16 is regarding a reinstatement CCP, however, much of this information will be applicable to you.  You will also find a link to a short video that describes the content of Q17, if you prefer information in audio format. If you find that most of your goals will be forward looking, and satisfiable only when you return to work, you can report on them in your 2023 CCP and then consider carrying them forward into your 2024 CCP. This is also described in Q17 and the video, as previously linked.

If you are renewing as Non-practicing or resigning with the intention of reinstating within 3 years, you do not need to complete a CCP. You will need to submit a CCP plan when you plan to reinstate. 

The College recognizes the need for you to make changes to your practice and this includes changes to the learning opportunities you may have access to. In-person conferences, meetings, courses and programs are not available to any health professional in the province at present. There are many other ways in which to access continuing education. These can include, but may not be limited to:

• Self-directed or distance learning programs
• Research projects with or without article publication
• Literature searches
• Professional reading, relevant films, audio or video recordings, webinars
• Study, journal, or virtual discussion groups
• Case studies
• Mentorship/coaching/shadowing with other professionals

These activities must be kept in a Professional Portfolio, which can be via the SkilSure site or any other manner of collection you choose.

Sample Learning Reports

Sample Cultural Safety and Humility Learning Reports Q9 of CSH Q&A

Sample Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Learning Reports Q6 of EDI Q&A

Sample Weight Stigma Reduction Learning Reports Q7 of the Weight Stigma Q&A

Step-by-Step CCP video

CDBC does not compare CCP processes, nor do we compare registrant’s CCP submissions between colleges. Your goals may be very similar in your other jurisdiction as they are with CDBC and that is reasonable, as long are you are complying with the requirements for each College’s CCP process. The CCP process is meant to promote ongoing learning and competence by way of critical reflection of skill/ability and gaps in knowledge. CDBC’s CCP process is set out to encourage this type of reflection and is unable to speak to the layout of CCPs in other jurisdictions.

See Q14 for reporting period information for your CDBC CCP submission.

If you have questions about the CDBC process for CCP, please reach out to staff.

You are correct in that previously, registrants were required to track their Learning Report progress. Given the one-year CCP cycle going forward (from a 3-year cycle previously), CDBC staff discussed the limited impact the collection of this information will have on the value of the CCP process. Therefore, learning progress stage is no longer required in CCP reporting going forward.

 If you find that you need to carry a goal forward from one CCP submission to the next because you haven’t reached the goal you set out, you may do so. It is expected that you will report on different Learning Activities which took place in the correct one-year time period, and that you will be able to use the Learning Outcome section of the PDR to report on how your additional learning was required to adequately reach your goal. Alternatively, you can reformulate the wording of your annual goals at any time during the one-year cycle such that they are achievable in the one-year time frame, allowing you to formulate new goals in each new CCP cycle.

The wording in all CCP documents, including within the SkilSure program, is forward-looking. A reporting period is April 1 to March 31 of the following year. When you renew your registration each year, say April 1, 2022, your next CCP (2023 CCP) is due March 1-March 31, 2023. The reporting period of the 2023 CCP is April 1, 2022-March 31, 2023. In this way, the CCP is forward looking.  

 This is done with the intent that you complete the Self-Assessment Relative to Standards of Practice at or near the beginning of a new reporting period (for example, April). You would then develop Learning Goals and collect Learning Activities (in your portfolio) that can be included in your CCP as Learning Activities you undertook to satisfy your Learning Goal. Nearer to the end of your reporting cycle (for example, February or March of the following year), you complete your Learning Outcome, which states how achieving your goal has benefited your practice of dietetics. In this way, it is a yearlong process that starts with a forward-looking timeline.

 If you are starting your CCP process later in the year, for example, late December, January/February (and it is due March 1-31 yearly), you will have a retrospective approach to your CCP. Although this is not the intent of the CCP, it can be a valid way with which to approach your CCP.  Essentially, you will have collected pertinent Learning Activities over the course of your reporting period (from April 1 yearly) and entered them into your portfolio. You can then review the learning you undertook, reflecting on the gaps in your knowledge at the outset of the reporting period, the steps you took to fill those gaps, and reflect on your Learning Outcome (how your learning impacted your practice). Over the course of the reporting period, you may have been formulating your Learning Goals informally. It is important to complete the Self-assessment Relative to the Standards of Practice and then develop SMART Learning Goals to enter into your CCP, albeit retrospectively in this case. Your Learning Activities and Learning Outcome must reflect the Learning Goals you make for yourself.

Both ways of completing your CCP are valid as they foster reflection of your learning needs, learning opportunities and outcome. It is after all, this reflective process, in a motivated dietitian, that research has shown to be the important aspect in ongoing competence development and achievement.

This answer also reflects the CCP required of former registrants who are completing a CCP for reinstatement within 3 years. However, your ability to reflect on learning you completed during your resigned time may be limited. You are encouraged to review Q17 of the Registration Q&A for more relevant details that pertain to your circumstances.

CCP submissions are open March 1-31 yearly. After submission, access to the CCP is closed. On April 1, the new CCP year opens to you and you can also access previous years of CCP submissions.

You may be interested to access these to remind yourself of your goals from previous years, OR because you want to carry over a goal from last year to this year. 

Step 1: Log into SkilSure and select “Continuing Competence Program”, then select “Professional Development Report”. Select “start reporting”.

Step 2: A drop down menu will appear. Select the year you wish to view.  

Step 3: If you want  content from each specific learning report within the CCP, select the Report by clicking on the dark blue Standard. This will open the Standard, allowing you to view the Indicator you selected. Click on the indicator. From here, you can select the tab “Goal”, “Learning Activities”, “Outcome” that you wish to review.

Step 4: Choose the print icon when accessing the information you want to pdf. You can repeat Steps 1-4 for all your learning reports, and any content within each learning report.

From here, you can transcribe your goals from one CCP to the next, if applicable.

The CDBC no longer requires registrants to comment on their goal progress stage. See Q13 of the CCP Q&A for more information. You are encouraged to formulate goals that are achievable in the one-year reporting window, but it is also perfectly acceptable if you find yourself carrying a goal over into the next reporting year.

The staff at the CDBC recognize that circumstances beyond your control may affect your ability to complete the annual CCP. The Accommodation of Registration Renewal Fees Policy (on the Registration Page) is available to provide clarity on, and inform registrants of, the process whereby they can request an extension for CCP and/or renewal payment without losing the ability to maintain registration in good standing. Please reach out to info@collegeofdietitiansbc.org as early as possible if you find that this policy applies to you.