Continuing Competence Program

Starting in 2023, all Manitoba LPNs will complete:

• a minimum of 1 self-directed learning plans, and
• an Annual Professional Learning (APL) module

LPNs selected to participate in the Quality Assurance Category of the CCP Audit will also identify 1 additional learning goal the year that they are selected for the Audit, which they will be required to complete the following year.

Each year, the Annual Professional Learning Module will be posted before the end of June. 

Access the 2024 module here

The topic for 2024 is: Meeting Your Professional Standards Through Documentation

After you complete the Annual Professional Learning (APL) Module, you must complete a brief quiz to confirm your learning and that you have viewed the module.

The quiz has been set up in the CLPNM’s online registration system. To access the quiz: 

• First login to your online registration profile
• Look for the section on your dashboard called “My Exams”
• Launch the quiz by clicking on the small pencil icon to the right. 

Your result will be automatically recorded in your online registration profile.

Please note the following:

• Your application for 2025 registration renewal will not process until/unless you have completed the quiz.
• A successful result on the quiz is 80%, or 12 out of 15 questions.
• You will have up to three attempts.
• Each time you start the quiz, you will have up to 60 minutes to complete it. You will likely need far less time. We have allotted 60 minutes so you are able to consult the APL module if you need to. 
• We recommend that you do not start the quiz unless you know you have enough time to complete it in one sitting.
• If for some reason you are unable to obtain a successful result on the quiz in three attempts, please contact us to discuss your next steps.

The CLPNM will continue to conduct an annual CCP Audit to verify compliance with the requirements of the CCP and to review the competence of its registrants. Just as learning activities will be organized into different categories under the new program, so too will be the activities conducted as part of the CCP Audit.

• Quality Improvement Category (Category 1): A min. of 10% of registrants will be directed to submit their quality improvement learning plan for review each year. This process will be similar to the former CCP, however, registrants selected for this category of the audit will submit one completed learning plan for review instead of the two required under the former CCP.
• Quality Assurance Category (Category 2): Each year, an additional 1-2% of registrants will submit both their completed Quality Improvement Learning Plan for review, and will also obtain feedback on their practice and complete a second Quality Assurance Learning Plan based on that feedback.
  • Year 1:  Selected registrants will submit their completed QI learning plans, as well as employer feedback and a QA learning goal the LPN has identified using the employer’s feedback. The deadline for submission to the CLPNM is the same as the annual registration renewal deadline.
  • Year 2: They will then submit evidence of the learning activities they completed to address the QA learning goal that they identified in Year 1.
  • Year 3: In January to March of Year 3, their completed QA learning plan will be reviewed to confirm the learning activities meet the requirements of the CCP.
• Self-Employed LPNs: Any registrant, selected for either the QI or QA category of the audit, who is self-employed, must also submit examples of nursing care plan templates they use in their practice and excerpts from their policy manuals for review during audit. The policy manual excerpts will be reviewed for evidence that the registrant has kept their policies up to date and consistent with current best practice. There is no change to this requirement.
• Verification of Practice Hours: A portion of those selected for either the QI or QA category of the audit will also be selected to provide verification of practice hours. This verification must be supplied to the CLPNM directly by the employer. There is no change to this requirement.
• Practice Audit: the CLPNM may randomly or specifically select some LPNs to undergo a more in-depth audit of their practice, at any time. This may involve chart reviews, direct observation of the LPN in practice, inspection of the practice environment, and/or reviews of additional information about the LPN’s practice from other sources. 

The QI and QA categories of the CCP Audit will be conducted in 4-year rolling cycles. In most cases, if you have been selected for the audit in one year, you will not be selected again in the next three years.

There will be exceptions to this, however. For example:

• An LPN could be selected for the QA category of the audit even if they were selected for the QI category of the audit within the previous three years.
• A registrant who is unable to demonstrate that they grasp the requirements of the CCP after two reviews of their QI or QA learning plan might be added to the audit pool in a subsequent year.
• Although it will not be the norm, the Executive Director of the CLPNM will retain the discretion to audit any registrant at any time.

The selection process for the QA Audit (Category 2) will be weighted towards LPNs who practise in circumstances associated with higher potential risk to clients. The risk factors to be applied in this weighting process will be identified based on data gathered from literature and the CLPNM’s experience. Examples of risk factors include: self-employed practice, agency practice, clinical practice in isolation from a team, and being new to CLPNM registration. Some LPNs will also be added to the QA Audit by random selection.  

No.

• The CLPNM will select a minimum of 10% of registrants for the QI category of the audit each year. Risk factors are not part of the selection criteria for this category of the CCP Audit. Selection will be mostly random, and because it is random, it is likely that some registrants who fall into the risk factor categories will be selected this way. 
• The CLPNM will select an additional 1-2% of registrants (approx.) for the QA category of the audit. Selection for this category of the CCP Audit will be weighted towards those whose practice circumstances are associated with higher risk; however, not every LPN who falls into higher risk categories will be selected. 

No. This focus on risk reflects the CLPNM’s organizational commitment to right-touch and risk-based approaches to regulation, which involve identifying and mitigating potential harms. Some practice circumstances present more risk to clients than others, and the greater the potential risk, the greater the need to ensure that LPNs are prepared to practise competently and safely in those circumstances.  

The CLPNM has an obligation, in legislation, to supervise the practice of licensed practical nurses through the continuing competence program.  Employers are in a position to provide valuable and balanced feedback about an LPN’s practice.  In addition, requesting feedback from employers is a less costly and intrusive alternative to supervising an LPN’s practice by way of more direct practice audits (chart reviews, observation, inspection).  Many professional regulators include requirements to obtain and reflect on feedback from others, as part of their profession’s continuing competence program requirements.

When the CLPNM surveyed LPNs about potential changes to the CCP, many LPNs invited the introduction of employer feedback, stating that employer feedback could offer a more balanced and accurate picture of an LPN’s overall competence than some other alternatives.

The LPNs selected for the QA Audit (Category 2) have a responsibility to ensure the CLPNM receives feedback from their employer, using the CLPNM Practice Feedback Form, by the deadline given. The CLPNM recognizes that employers are busy, so will provide several weeks of advance notice. 

The forms you will submit for the QA Audit (Category 2) will provide you with a space in which to offer comments on your employer feedback The CLPNM will take this into consideration.

In some circumstances, LPNs will be given the option of obtaining feedback from a colleague who knows their practice instead of an employer. Please consult the CCP Instruction Guide for acceptable alternatives. 

You will be asked to explain why you have sought feedback from a colleague instead of an employer. The CLPNM reserves the right to follow up with employers/colleagues to validate the information provided. 

If you are self-employed, and have neither an employer nor a colleague who is a regulated health care professional who can offer feedback on your practice, the CLPNM will ask you to submit your completed Self-Employed Practice – Reflections on Risk Form as an alternative. Read more about this form in the CLPNM’s  Practice Direction on Self-Employed Practice. 

Yes. Participation in the CCP every year is mandatory for all LPNs. As per The Licensed Practical Nurses Act and Regulation, participating in the CCP is a requirement for annual registration renewal.  

Each year, during registration renewal, you will be asked to declare whether you have participated in the CCP. Please note that your declaration may be verified by the CLPNM at any time, and any declarations found to be false may be deemed fraudulent. 

Continuing competence activities are also verified each year through the CCP Audit.

Yes. Maintaining and building your competence as a nurse is a requirement for maintaining your registration with the CLPNM. If you are off work, but intend to remain registered as an LPN with the CLPNM, you must meet the requirements of the CCP.

Not necessarily. Although the documentation required for the CCP Audit is due by the registration renewal deadline, it will not be reviewed and assessed until later. Most years, the CCP Audit begins in January. Once your CCP material is reviewed, you will be notified by email if you have, or have not, met the requirements of the program. Please review the timelines listed in the CCP Instruction Guide.

There are no exemptions from participating in the CCP. Doing so is an annual requirement for renewing your registration. 

Manitoba LPNs now enter their learning plans directly into their online CLPNM registration profile. Please consult the CCP Instruction Guide for more information. Instructions on how to submit your CCP information begin on page 24 of the guide. 

If you are being audited, you must submit your required CCP information in order to be able to apply to renew your registration. Your renewal application will not process if you have outstanding CCP information. 

Manitoba LPNs now have the ability to enter their annual learning plan in their online CLPNM registration profile.  Login here. Starting September 1, you will see a section on your home page called “My Audit.” This is where you will complete the information required for the CCP Audit, and submit it. 

If you previously completed a learning plan in the “My Learning” tab earlier in the year, you should see that same information in “My Audit”. You can revise it here before submitting it. Note that even if you completed a learning plan in “My Learning” earlier in the year, you must submit it for the audit from the “My Audit” section. 

Once you have submitted your registration renewal application, your learning plan will become part of your renewal application and cannot be revised until after the CCP Audit begins in the winter.

Your learning plan may only be submitted for the CCP Audit through your online registration profile.  The CLPNM no longer accepts learning plans for the CCP Audit by email, fax, mail or in person.  

These do not need to be submitted to the CLPNM by the registration renewal deadline. However, if the CLPNM or the CLPNM’s CCP auditors require further information from you, they may direct you to submit one or both of these at any time.

You will be notified of the results of each audit phase by email. If the auditors determine that additional information or follow-up action from you is needed, this direction will be available to you in your online registration profile. Instructions on where to find these directions will be included in the email you receive that advises you of your audit results. These emails will be sent at the end of each audit phase. Please check the CLPNM website during the audit for a list of the specific dates you can expect to receive your results.

If the dates posted on the website have passed and you have not yet received your results from the CLPNM, you should assume that the correspondence was sent and that you missed seeing it in your inbox.  It is your responsibility to contact the CLPNM to ensure you are aware of your audit results and the auditors’ direction before you miss any important deadlines.

In addition to the correspondence you will receive from the CLPNM by email throughout the audit, you may receive some important notices by mail to your home address on record with the CLPNM. 

To ensure you do not miss time-sensitive correspondence from the CLPNM that could affect your licence, please be sure that all of your contact information on file with the CLPNM is accurate and up-to-date throughout the audit. Also be sure to check your email regularly, including your junk folder. If you are not sure whether the CLPNM has your current contact information, check your contact information in your online registration profile.

Most of the CLPNM’s communication with you during the audit will be by email. For this reason, LPNs selected for the audit must make all arrangements possible to ensure they have regular access to email throughout the audit period, even if they are on holiday.

The CLPNM recognizes that, in rare circumstances, you may not be able to arrange for email access. If this is the case, it is up to you to contact the CLPNM by other means (e.g. by phone) to verify your results at the end of each phase. If you do not, you are at risk of missing important time-sensitive direction that could affect your licence. Dates that you can expect to receive audit results will be posted on the CLPNM website during the audit period.

Also note that, although communication of audit results will be by email, if your provisional licence is revoked as a result of failing to meet the auditors’ deadlines and directions, you will be notified by registered mail (or by another traceable delivery service) sent to the mailing address on file with the CLPNM. If you are on holiday, having a friend or family member collect your mail and notify you of any correspondence from the CLPNM is strongly recommended.

No. This means that you have successfully completed the CCP Audit and no further action is required.

The email will include information on where to find the CCP auditors’ specific instructions to you.  These instructions will be posted in your online registration profile.  You will also be given a deadline for submitting your revised documents.

Please refer to The Audit Process section of the CCP Instruction Guide for further information related to audit timelines.

Any registrant who is selected for the CCP Audit and who does not:

• meet all directions and deadlines related to the audit process, or
• demonstrate continuing competence by the end of the three-phase audit process

has not met the requirements for registration, and as such, may have their provisional registration revoked.

This occurs rarely. The CCP is not meant to be a punitive process, nor is the audit. The CLPNM and peer auditors endeavor to support LPNs throughout the process, and the vast majority of LPNs are successful.

More information on an LPN’s professional expectations in relation to the CCP and the CCP Audit can be found in the CCP Practice Direction.

As per 4(2) of The Licensed Practical Nurses Act, the CLPNM must carry out its duties in a manner that serves and protects the public. With that in mind, the CLPNM must provide employers with reasonable notice when LPNs in their employment are at risk of having their registration revoked as a result of not meeting audit requirements. This ensures employers are able to make any staffing adjustments necessary to ensure the public is not at risk. Information on who has registration status with the CLPNM is deemed public information, as per 7(3) of the Act.

• Review the Practice Direction on the Continuing Competence Program
• Review the CCP Instruction Guide for more detailed guidance on how to meet your professional responsibilities related to CCP
• Review the CCP Audit webpage, if you have been chosen for the audit, in either Category 1 or Category 2
• Contact us with questions by email, or at 204-663-1212 or 1-877-663-1212 toll free