Immunization Competency
BCCDC offers an on-line course for immunization providers. The course is available to Pharmacists, Licensed Practical Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, and Registered Nurses in BC. Pharmacists can get course enrollment information on the BC Pharmacy Injections Program webpage. Licensed Practical Nurses can get info from the College of LPN webpage. Registered Psychiatric Nurses can get information from the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses webpage.
If you are a Registered Nurse or a Registered Psychiatric nurse who is interested in taking this course, please download the user guide below. If you have any problems or questions, you can send emails to competencyHelp@bccdc.ca.
User Guide to the Immunization Competency Course for Registered Nurses and RPNs
College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia: Scope of Practice for Immunization
Registered nurses compound, dispense or administer immunoprophylactic or chemoprophylactic agents only under the following circumstances:
- Registered nurses who compound, dispense or administer immunoprophylactic or chemoprophylactic agents identified by BCCDC must possess the competencies established by BCCDC and follow decision support tools established by BCCDC.**
- Registered nurses who compound, dispense or administer immunoprophylactic agents for the purpose of preventing disease in travelers must successfully complete BCCDC's basic immunization course as well as additional education in the area of travel health. These registered nurses must follow the Canadian Immunization Guide, in conjunction with the Canada Communicable Disease Reports. They must be employed, on contract to an employer or have a written collaborative agreement with an authorized prescriber.
- Registered nurses may compound and administer experimental vaccines as part of a formal research program involving a physician. These registered nurses must successfully complete BCCDC's basic immunization course as well as additional education related to the specific experimental vaccine. They must follow established decision support tools.
** The decision support tools from BCCDC are the Communicable Disease Control Manual, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.
BCCDC's Videos on Injection Landmarking and Technique
Commonly Used Sites
Less Common Sites
Last Updated: November 15, 2011