College Newsletter May 2020


BC's Restart Plan and Right to Title

COVID-19: BC's Restart Plan

The Provincial Government of BC has released a plan laying out a series of steps to reopen the province. Optician services will likely be included in phase two of the plan. The College of Opticians of BC is working together with other provincial health regulatory colleges and optician regulators across the country, to gather more relevant information for opticians. We will inform you immediately when we have further guidelines. Until then, please read this document thoroughly. COBC cannot advise you on when to reopen your business, please consult the provincial government's guidelines for further information.

BC's Restart Plan

 

Right to Title

Registering with the College of Opticians of British Columbia means you are a Licensed Optician, a healthcare professional who has the right to use certain practice titles such as optician, dispensing optician, contact lens fitter, or any variation on the title (Health Professions Act, Opticians Regulations, section 2).

COBC has the responsibility to investigate any individual misusing these titles, including registrants who are practicing under a title they are not licensed to use. Misuse of title is a public safety issue as it misleads people seeking care into believing they are working with a licensed health care professional. Other protected titles include dentist, optometrist and massage therapist.

Read more

 

Renewal is Now Closed

The renewal portal is now closed. Thank you to everyone who has renewed their license for this registration year. If you have any questions about renewal please contact us

 

VLRC Open to Referrals 

Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada are continuing to provide vision rehabilitaion services through virtual care platforms. They are accepting referrals from communitry partners including opticians. To find out how to make a referral please visit the CNIB website.

 

Did You Know?

Licensed opticians have an obligation to ensure the staff they are working with are licensed with the College of Opticians of British Columbia. Titles such as optician, dispensing optician, contact lens fitter, optical dispenser, and contact lens technician are titles that may only be used by registrants of COBC.

 

...and finally

Thanks to Raheem Savja, Licensed Optician and COBC board member for sending us this fantastic photo of himself in his PPE gear, getting ready to treat his patients.

College of Opticians of BC operates on the traditional, ancestral and unceded Coast Salish territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.

Unsubscribing from this email will revoke your consent to receive email correspondance from us as outlined in Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). We will no longer be able to send you important reminders pertaining to your license which may affect your registration with the College of Opticians of BC. Please contact us if you have any questions.