Draft Practice Advisories
The College is pleased that the recirculation of the draft advisories has generated interest and response. These Advisories were previously mailed to each registrant and have been posted on the website since January 2008. As previously noted, Draft Advisory #4 has been extensively redrafted in response to the very recent rule change in the courts.
The following paragraph has been previously distributed to registrants and is on the practice advisory page on the website:
Practice Advisories are guidelines written in reference to the Code of Conduct. Once published to the profession, registrants are presumed to have knowledge of Practice Advisories and it is recommended that they be guided by them in their practice of psychology. Practice Advisories may be referred to and relied upon by the Inquiry Committee or the Discipline Committee to assess the conduct of a registrant and determine if a registrant has contravened a provision of the bylaws, including the Code of Conduct, has engaged in professional misconduct, unprofessional conduct or unethical conduct, or is competent to practice psychology. While intended to have broad application, not all Practice Advisories apply to all work settings or circumstances.
The College would appreciate registrants offering feedback doing so by making suggestions about how to improve the guideline information intended by the advisory, in addition to expressing concerns about the content in any draft. Registrants are reminded that, while advisories are guidelines, the Code of Conduct contains the "rules" by which registrant conduct is evaluated. Registrants are referred, in particular, to Standard 3.8, which states that: "A registrant must maintain current knowledge of all federal and provincial statutes and regulations, and other agency and professional bylaws, codes of conduct and practice advisories that relate to the performance of psychological services." Registrants are reminded of their obligations to understand the standards which govern their conduct and to ensure the accuracy of their statements when discussing standards, codes, and guidelines, including when making posts on the internet. Registrants are also encouraged to send feedback directly to the College using the practicesupport@collegeofpsychologists.bc.ca email address.
