Cultural Safety and Humility - Orange Shirt Day
The College of Dental Hygienists of British Columbia reminds BC dental hygienists that Wednesday, September 30, 2020 is Orange Shirt Day, a day when we wear orange to honour the victims and survivors of the Canadian residential school system. From 1831 to 1996 in what is now called Canada, over 150,000 Indigenous children as young as 4 years old were forcibly removed from their family homes and taken to residential schools.
While in residential schools, Indigenous children were forbidden from speaking their native languages, practicing their Indigenous cultures including dances, ceremonies and other traditions, and communicating with their families. Many of these children suffered physical, emotional, spiritual, and sexual abuse in residential schools. Medical and dental experiments were conducted on children in the residential school system. Many Indigenous children never made it home. Survivors have lasting mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health issues, some of which have been passed on to their children, and so on. This is referred to as “inter-generational trauma” and is a lasting effect of the residential school system today. In addition to the social determinants of health resulting from inter-generational trauma from the residential school system, ongoing colonialism is further present in personal bias and system racism present in the health care system, creating additional barriers to health and wellness for Indigenous peoples.
Dental hygienists are reminded to practice cultural safety and humility during the dental hygiene process of care, which includes familiarizing oneself with the colonial history of Canada and its lasting effects through social determinants of health, personal bias, and systemic racism. Exercising cultural humility in the dental hygiene process of care leads to cultural safety; health care free from any form of judgement, personal bias, or systemic racism. Dental hygienists are recommended to complete the San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety training program and to review the CDHBC Interpretation Guideline on Cultural Safety and Humility found on the CDHBC website.
CDHBC staff will be wearing orange shirts on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 to honour the victims and survivors o.f the residential school system and bring attention to cultural safety. Registered dental hygienists are encouraged to learn more about Orange Shirt Day and explore ways in which they may participate
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Notice of Board Election
In accordance with section 4 of the CDHBC bylaws, notice is provided to registrants of the expiry of the term of office of 3 elected Board members effective February 28, 2021*.
Nominations, along with the completed Declaration for Election to the Board, and the Board Nomination Application Form must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. on November 30, 2020.
Please click here for the Nomination and Declaration Form.
Please click here for the Board Election Guidance for Applicants.
Please click here for the Board Nomination Application Form.
* Please note that remaining Board positions do not become vacant until March 1, 2022 and will not be the subject of election during 2021.
In September 2019, the College amended its bylaws regarding Board Elections. These new changes were designed to foster diversity by bringing a variety of background, knowledge and expertise to the board. These changes will facilitate the election process by ensuring that the Board composition is based on the needs of the Board and that skills, competencies and diversity are the focus of the board member selection process.
The 2021-2022 Board Election period will see the enactment of the final section of the election bylaw amendments come into effect, including the removal of electoral districts and a move towards an “election-at-large” process. Any candidate wishing to be nominated must meet the eligibility criteria in the bylaws. Any eligible registrant can be nominated and run for election to the board even if they may not meet the determined needs identified by the Nomination Committee. It will be up to registrants to cast a ballot for the candidate they feel is best suited to govern the College and thereby the profession in the public's interest.
In accordance with the bylaws, the Nomination Committee has evaluated the current board make up against the CDHBC Board Competency Matrix and have identified in the 2021-2022 Board Needs Assessment which competencies are not currently being met or need to be further enhanced.
The College election process will continue to be electronically delivered by an external firm, to each eligible Registrant. The electronic ballot method ensures that the vote is confidential, and that each Registrant can only vote one time for each upcoming board vacancy. This means that starting with the upcoming election, all Registrants across BC can vote for any candidate they choose up to the number of vacant positions on the Board.
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Root of the Matter: LA and CPR Certification, What you Need to Know for Renewal
Two of the major changes implemented when the updated CDHBC Bylaws were enacted on March 2, 2020 were related to local anesthetic and CPR certification. CDHBC staff have received many questions related to these changes and therefore are providing further clarification to these topics here.
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Notice of General Meeting
The General Meeting of the College of Dental Hygienists of British Columbia will be held on a virtual platform on Thursday, October 15, 2020, at 7:00 pm.
Please note that in order for the public and registrants to participate in the General Meeting webcast advanced registrant is required. The link and log-in information for the meeting will only be provided to registered individuals.
This year the College will accept questions for the public and registrants in advance of the General Meeting. There will be an opportunity to answer questions during the meeting as well.
An agenda and topics to be covered during the matter will be published in the coming weeks.
RSVPs must be received by October 12, 2020, via email to: savemyseat@cdhbc.com. Questions can also be submitted to the same email address.
In order to comply with the CDHBC Bylaws this notice was provided on the CDHBC website on September 16, 2020.
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Recent Communications from the College
In case you missed it, here are some recent communications sent out by the College:
Oral Health Care During Phases 2 and 3 documents during COVID-19, originally posted to the College website on August 18 , 2020.
Registrants should regularly monitor the College’s COVID-19 website page to ensure they have received the most current recommendations and guidelines.
On August 27, 2020 the MLA Steering Committee released its final recommendations, please click here to read their report.
On August 31, CDHBC shared an important message from B.C.’s four dental colleges in response to the proposed changes to the regulation of oral health care in B.C. announced by the Minister of Health on August 27, 2020. Please click here to read the message.
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Moving?
It is a bylaw requirement that registrants of the College ensure that their contact information is always current on the CDHBC register. Incorrect or out-of-date addresses and email addresses can lead to missed mailings that may include important notices and documents.
Contact information changes can be done by logging in to your registrant profile, clicking on the “Profile” tab and editing “Your Contact information”. Please contact the College if you require any further assistance at cdhbc@cdhbc.com.
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