Your privacy
Our commitment to you
The British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM), as the operator of the Nursing Community Assessment Service (NCAS), is committed to protecting your privacy. We seek to use best practices in holding any personal information we collect. We collect, use and disclose personal information in accordance with our province's
Health Professions Act (HPA),
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and other applicable legislation.
Accountability
We have people who are responsible for making sure we comply with privacy legislation. The Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of BCCNM is ultimately accountable for the compliance of the NCAS with
FIPPA.
If you are an IEN who has been referred to NCAS, and have questions about the personal information that we collect for your assessment, please contact the BCCNM Privacy Officer at 604-742-6200 or privacy@bccnm.ca.
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Identifying purposes
We collect (and, where applicable, use or disclose) personal information from Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) who are applying to or are referred to NCAS to:
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Determine whether their competencies are substantially equivalent to those of entry-level Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Health Care Assistants in British Columbia;
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Identify competence gaps to determine appropriate supplementary education; and
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Identify alternate professions/roles for which they have demonstrated the competencies.
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Consent
We collect personal information only on IENs that are referred to NCAS by the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM). The information that we collect is either from the organization referring the IEN to NCAS, or directly from the IEN.
Limiting collection, use, disclosure and retention
We collect and use only that personal information which is needed to meet the purposes described above. The personal information collected and used by NCAS is processed and stored in areas separate from BCCNM's systems, and is therefore segregated from BCCNM. It is not shared with BCCNM for BCCNM's registration purposes while the assessment is underway.
As part of the assessment process, we share personal information from IENs with service providers and contractors in Canada and the United States who are contracted to provide services to the NCAS that require them to handle personal information. These service providers and contractors agree in writing to protect personal information and comply with
FIPPA.
Once an assessment is completed, the assessment results are shared with the referring college or registry. The British Columbia Ministry of Health has access to aggregate information on the assessment results of IENs, but not to the personal information of an IEN. The personal information of IENs will be shared with any other organizations if required by law or court order, or with the individuals' consent.
We keep personal information collected as part of an IEN's assessment for a minimum of one year.
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Accuracy and individual access
We make every reasonable effort to ensure that personal information is accurate and complete. We may contact an IEN for an update if we become aware that their information is inaccurate. Anyone who believes there is an error or omission in their information may request that it be corrected.
Safeguards
We are using reasonable security measures to protect the personal information we have collected. These measures are intended to prevent:
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an unauthorized person from accessing the information, or
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someone from collecting, using,
sharing or disposing of personal information when they are not supposed to.
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