Continuing Education

Continuing Education (CE) Requirements

Practicing naturopathic doctors in BC are required to fulfill the continuing education requirement as part of CNPBC’s Quality Assurance Program and as mandated by the Bylaws. The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that they maintain their competency in all areas essential to the practice of naturopathic medicine. This helps protect the public and ensures that patients receive current professional naturopathic healthcare. 

CE Requirements 

The following is a summary of the CE requirements per two (2) year CE period. Please review the detailed requirements for each category below. Please note that Categories A & B are no longer required.

Current CE Period: January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025
Category C 
Category D
Maximum 10 hours
Category E
(Certification holders only, except Prescriptive Authority)
Minimum 2 hours per certification
Category F
(Prescriptive Authority Certification holders only)
Minimum 10 hours from courses approved by the College
Category G
Minimum 3 hours from courses approved by the College
Total Required Number of CE Hours
Minimum 40 hours

If your registration came into effect after the start of the CE period, your continuing education requirements will be prorated based on your initial registration date. The prorated requirement will be reflected on your ROSS account. Please email Registration@cnpbc.bc.ca if your requirements have not been prorated.

To report your CE activities, go to ROSS > “Continuing Education (CE)” tab> “Activities”. The page will display a breakdown of the required CE hours and a summary of the hours you have entered during the current CE period. To enter CE hours, click on “Add New”

At the end of the CE period, registrants must submit their CE entries to the College. This can be done on ROSS > “Continuing Education (CE)” tab> “Submit to College”

Criteria

Additional CE hours can be obtained by attending the following conferences, courses, or seminars:

  • Conferences or seminars offered directly by an official provincial or state association in a regulated jurisdiction, such as the British Columbia Naturopathic Doctors (BCND), the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors (OAND), or one of the following national naturopathic organizations: the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (CAND), American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) or the North West Naturopathic Physicians Association (NWNPA);
  • Seminars sponsored by any other medical and professional organizations such as chiropractic, medical, nursing, psychology, acupuncture, etc.;
  • Nutraceutical and pharmaceutical company sponsored educational seminars;
  • Teleconference, web-conference, video and audio recordings of seminars, computer-based learning programs and all other distant-learning programs; and
  • Life support training and advanced life support training (CPR/BLS, and NALS).

The above conferences, courses or seminars must meet the following requirements:

  • No commercial bias or product placement;
  • Every product mentioned is referred to in a similar manner throughout the presentation;
  • Generic names are used in presentations whenever possible for all devices, laboratory tests, natural health products, etc.;
  • If a brand name is used, it is to appear after the generic name (e.g., in parenthesis).

Approval

You can claim Category C hours for time attended without pre-approval from the College by using your professional judgement to select CE activities that meet this category’s criteria.

Proof of Completion

Please upload a certificate of course completion on ROSS. The certificate should indicate:

  • the name of provider;
  • the name of course, conference or seminar;
  • the name of participant;
  • the total number of hours attended;
  • the date of successful completion; and
  • where possible, the name of course instructor(s).

Criteria

The College accepts up to a maximum of 10 hours per CE period for the following Category D activities:

  • Teaching: Offering courses or workshops to either the public or other professionals.
  • Service: Serving on committees or boards of the College or the BCNA.
  • Professional Development:  Attending courses related to personal and professional development including accounting, business, communication skills, financial management, leadership development, office management, public speaking, and related topics.
  • Preceptoring and Mentoring: Includes offering preceptorship for a student or supervising another registrant as part of a mentorship program. Review the College’s Continuing Education (CE) Policy: Supervised practice/Preceptorship for important information regarding these arrangements and the allocation of CE hours for both the mentor/preceptor and mentee/preceptee.

Approval

Registrants can claim 1 Category D hour for every two (2) hours of activity, unless stated otherwise. Submissions for this category do not require pre-approval from the College. You may use your best professional judgement to seek Continuing Education (CE) that meets this category’s criteria.

Proof of Completion

Please upload a summary of the activity on ROSS as follows:

  • Teaching: Include the course name, date, and location.
  • Service: Indicate which Committee or Board.
  • Professional Development: Include the course name, date, and location.
  • Preceptoring and Mentoring: Include dates and timing, the general nature of the supervision or practice observation, and the names of both the mentor/preceptor and mentee/preceptee.

Criteria

For each CNPBC certification, except Prescriptive Authority, registrants must successfully complete at least two (2) hours, of relevant CE in the specified aspect of practice covered by the certification, per two (2) year CE period.

If you have obtained a new certification after the start of the CE period, the two (2) hour requirement will automatically be prorated for you on the ROSS.

Category E CE hours may be obtained through:

  • Courses or conferences: relevant to the specified aspect of practice.
  • Supervised practice and/or practice observation:(Review the College’s Continuing Education (CE) Policy: Supervised practice/Preceptorship for important information regarding these arrangements and the allocation of CE hours for both the mentor/preceptor and mentee/preceptee.)
  • Currency: Registrants can meet Category E CE requirements upon providing evidence of currency in a specified aspect of practice. Two (2) hours of Category E CE may be claimed for every fifty (50) treatments performed in an area of practice corresponding to the registrant’s certification.
You may choose one of the above methods to satisfy Category E requirements for a particular certification. You cannot combine these methods (e.g., currency & courses) to satisfy the requirements for a specific certification.

Approval

As a registrant, you can claim Category E hours for time attended or treatments completed. Submissions for this category do not require pre-approval from the College. You may use your best professional judgement to seek Continuing Education (CE) that meets this category’s criteria and is relevant to your certifications.

Proof of Completion

CE Courses: Upload a certificate of course completion on ROSS. The certificate should indicate:

  • the name of provider;
  • the name of course, conference or seminar;
  • the name of participant;
  • the total number of hours attended;
  • the date of successful completion; and
  • where possible, the name of course instructor(s).

Currency Model: Upload your treatment tracking log on ROSS. You can choose one of the tracking logs found on ROSS > “Forms & Resources” tab > “Continuing Education” folder.

Preceptoring (Practice Observation): Upload a preceptorship summary on ROSS which includes dates and timing, the general nature of the preceptorship, and the names of both the preceptor and the preceptee.

Supervised Practice: Complete and upload the Supervised Practice Tracking from on ROSS>. The form can be found on ROSS > “Forms & Resources” tab > “Quality Assurance” folder.

Criteria

Registrants who hold CNPBC certification in Prescriptive Authority are required to obtain ten (10) hours of approved courses every two-year CE period.

If registrants take the ten (10) hours in a single prescribing topic such as bioidentical hormones, they can only use that topic once and must take other topics in the future. However, they are allowed to take the same topic again if it is part of a multi-topic prescribing review.

If you have acquired certification in Prescriptive Authority during a CE period, say from January 2024 to December 2025, you are not required to fulfill the ten (10) hour requirement until the end of the following two-year CE period, that is, from 2026-2027.

Approval

Category F hours can only be claimed from courses approved by the Board at the recommendation of the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC).

A list of the approved Category F course options can be found on ROSS> “Forms & Resources” tab > “Continuing Education” folder. The approved courses document indicates the maximum number of hours that can be claimed for a course.

If you wish to have the QAC review a course from outside the approved list, contact the course provider and refer them to the section below: “Information for CE Course Providers.”

Proof of Completion

Upload a certificate of course completion on ROSS. The certificate should indicate:

  • the name of provider;
  • the name of course, conference or seminar;
  • the name of participant;
  • the total number of hours attended;
  • the date of successful completion; and
  • where possible, the name of course instructor(s).

Criteria

You must complete three (3) hours in approved Category G courses per two-year CE period. The College has established this category to encourage professional development in the areas of cultural safety, cultural humility, ethics, and jurisprudence.

Approval

Category G hours can only be claimed from courses approved by the Board at the recommendation of the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC).

A list of the approved Category F course options can be found on the ROSS > “Forms & Resources” tab > “Continuing Education” folder. The approved courses document indicates the maximum number of hours that can be claimed for a course.

If you wish to have the QAC review a course from outside the approved list, you may contact the course provider and refer them to the section below: “Information for CE Course Providers.”

Proof of Completion:

Please upload a certificate of course completion on ROSS. The certificate should indicate:

  • the name of provider;
  • the name of course, conference or seminar;
  • the name of participant;
  • the total number of hours attended;
  • the date of successful completion; and
  • where possible, the name of course instructor(s).

Eligible Categories

Please note that the College only reviews and approves Category F & G courses. Registrants may use their best professional judgement and the criteria provided in the above sections when submitting CE hours for the remaining categories.

Application Process

The Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) is responsible for reviewing and approving CE courses that satisfy the requirements for Category F and Category G.

Course providers may fill out and submit the Continuing Education Courses Application form to the College to have their courses considered for approval for these CE categories.

Please note that, depending on the meeting schedule of the QAC, the approval process may take some time.

Once approved, courses will be added to the list of approved courses posted in the Registrant Online Self-Service (ROSS) system under the “Forms & Resources” tab.

The College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia protects the public safety by ensuring that naturopathic physicians in British Columbia practice safely, ethically, and competently.

LINKS

©2023 College of Naturopathic Physicians of BC