BCCDC's STI Certified Practice Education Program is approved by the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) as a certifying education program for registered nurses practicing STI care.
Applicant requirements
All applicants must meet the following prerequisites or they will not be considered.
- Registered nurse in British Columbia
- Approval from employer, i.e. program manager or nursing supervisor with a health authority or affiliate to complete the course
- Upon completion of the course, they must be performing STI assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up as part of their ongoing work
BCCDC's STI Certified Practice Education Program is approved by the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) as a certifying education program for registered nurses practicing STI care.
BCCDC will provide BCCNM with the names and registration numbers of those nurses who have successfully completed the STI Certified Practice Education Program. To complete the certification process you must apply through BCCNM. Once BCCNM has received record of your successful completion from BCCDC you will receive communication from BCCNM that you have been entered into their Certified Practice registry.
There is no charge for the STI Certified Practice Education Program. Participants are responsible for their own travel, accommodation and expenses for the clinical practice component.
Seat allocation
There are 22 seats available in each STI course, for a total of 110 seats per year. The breakdown of seat allocation per regional health authority (RHA) is based on population size, equity considerations, and historical seat use and course attrition.
The majority of seats will require prearranged, health authority preceptorships. However, there will be 10 BCCDC STI clinic preceptorships available in each course session. Each health authority is guaranteed a minimum of 1 BCCDC practicum seat per course session. Three additional BCCDC practicum seats are available per course session to be allocated among RHAs based on need at the discretion of the STI/HIV education team.
There will also be one seat in each course session for non-health authority applicants that will require a pre-arranged community preceptorship.
Pre-arranged community preceptorships must be completed at a health authority sponsored or health authority-affilliated site.
Course details
The STI Certified Practice Education Program is divided into two components:
The STI course content is divided into five modules including:
- Introduction to STI Practice
- Sexual Health and Communication
- Introduction to Sexually Transmitted Infections and Syndromes
- STI Clinical Management
- Partner Notification and Reporting
A schedule is provided allowing one - two weeks completion time per module depending on the work load in that module. We estimate 4 - 6 hours/week to complete the online theory course. Learner assessment is based on quizzes, journal assignments, case study assignments and a cumulative final exam.
Nurses complete a 3 day or 18 hour STI clinical practice experience after completion of the online theory course. The nurse will work with a BCCDC Provincial STI Clinic preceptor or a community BCCDC-approved preceptor to fulfil the 14 STI completion requirements.
This practical experience is an essential component for the completion of the STI Certified Practice Education Program leading to BCCNM STI certification.
