A few hours a month can make an enormous difference. Make a difference in your profession and the lives of people with communication disorders, and connect with other speech and hearing health professionals along the way! There are so many ways to get involved.
Run for Provincial Council:
BCASLPA is governed by an elected board, called the “Provincial Council.” The Council has 14 elected positions.
| Positions | Purpose |
|---|---|
|
Executive Committee (6 positions):
|
To deal with day-to-day operations of the association. |
|
Professional Councillors (4 positions):
|
To ensure professional issues are considered. |
|
Representatives – Main Committee Groupings (3 positions):
|
To ensure committees have a direct line to the policy-approving body of the association. |
|
Canadian Association for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASLPA) Councillor (1 position) |
To represent BC on the national association’s board. |
Join (or start!) a Committee:
Committees are made up of members from different backgrounds working towards a common goal. These include Communications (website, newsletter, email), Conference Planning, and Mentorship.
Committees participate in strategic planning sessions through their chairpersons to help determine how BCASLPA success should be defined and measured.
Interested in an issue? Talk to your Area Committee Chairperson to see if there’s a committee that’s addressing it.
Area Representatives Committee
The Area Representatives help keep members in touch with Provincial Council! There is one Area Representative from each geographic region in the province. Two of our major responsibilities are distributing Area Funds to support local professional development, and hosting “Meet and Greet” events in our regions. We’re also a conduit for information and questions between Provincial Council and the general membership, and help to connect new members with the Association. We love to hear from our members, so feel free to email or call! If you’re interested in being an Area Rep or have a question, please contact Janet Campbell at the BCASLPA Office.
School Affairs Committee (SAC)
The SAC provides an excellent opportunity for SLPs working in school settings in BC to connect with other school district SLPs to share ideas and discuss issues relevant to school settings. All SLPs working in BC schools are welcome to participate in our SAC teleconference meetings held four times a year. For more information about the SAC, please contact the current SAC chairperson.
Continuing Education Committee
This committee develops and maintains a list of e-resources to help speech-language pathologists, audiologists and supportive personnel to maintain their professional competence. It also explores new education opportunities for professionals.
Committee members participate in teleconferences 3-4 times a year. We currently have four speech-language pathologists, but are looking for reps from Audiology and Supportive Personnel.
If you are interested in helping to support these initiatives contact
Membership Affairs – Jonina Cawsey
joninac@gmail.com
Dispensing Audiologist Committee
The Dispensing Audiologist committee advocates for the profession of Audiology with respect to fitting hearing aids and assistive devices for those with hearing impairment. The committee is open to any Audiologist interesting in promoting Audiologists as the primary hearing aid fitting professionals, and protecting our profession within the college and in the hearing care industry.
For more information, contact Joely Viveiros at terracehearing@telus.net.
Become a Mentor or ‘Mentee’:
The Mentorship Matters Committee’s job is to recruit mentors and mentees and match mentors with mentees based on geographical and learning needs. The mentorship model supports new or recent graduates (last five years) to build skills and knowledge.
If you are interested in helping to support this initiative contact:
Membership Affairs – Jonina Cawsey
joninac@gmail.com
Join (or start!) a Special Interest Group:
Special Interest Groups are groups of professionals with common interests and backgrounds who get together to share information or work towards common goals. These include Private Practice, Dysphagia, School Affairs, Supportive Personnel, Dispensing Audiologists, and Student Reps.
Provincial Dysphagia Interest Group (PDIG)
The PDIG provides a forum for discussing issues in dysphagia around the province. We share ideas, resources and support and advocate for the role of SLPs in dysphagia assessment and management in BC. We have been working on sharing our thoughts about dysphagia competency requirements with the College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of BC and have been discussing a variety of professional practice topics in our monthly teleconferences.
The group is currently on hold while we look for a new chair or a group of people to rotate the role. If you are interested in chairing or would like to join our contact list, please email the BCASLPA Office.
Supportive Personnel Interest Group
Come be a pea in the pod with other supportive personnel. Join the supportive personnel interest group to inspire and to work on building unity and pride in our profession. We achieve our goals by teamwork to establish rapport and cohesion among the supportive personnel profession, represent the needs of the profession, and develop an active group.
The purpose of the supportive personnel interest group is
- to increase awareness, recognition, and credibility for the professionals working as supportive personnel
- to enhance and foster stronger collaboration with speech-language pathologists and audiologists
- to provide a voice on issues which affect our profession
To get involved or ask questions, contact the BCASLPA Office.
Join (or start!) a Working Group:
Occasionally a working group is formed to complete a specific goal, such as Data Collection and Autism. The group disbands once the goal is achieved.
We also have member representatives on committees and working groups external to BCASLPA. These include the Pan Canadian Alliance and the Paediatric Advisory Group.