Level 1 First Aid Tickets Invalid

Friday, July 27, 2007 04:09 AM

Level 1 Occupational first aid certificates granted to hundreds of people through the Fort Nelson campus of Northern Lights College, are not valid.

Investigators from the WorkeSafe BC office in Prince George are investigating how the certificates were granted when the students hadn’t written the final exam.

WorkSafe spokesperson Donna Freeman says the invalid certificates involve 880 students from July of 2005. “We learned of the problem when a new instructor was preparing for an audit of the program” says Freeman.

The College has been trying to locate all of the students by phone or registered mail.

Locating the students is no easy task as many may have taken postings throughout B.C. and Alberta in locations that may not be reached so easily .

The College is offering some options:

They can challenge the exam. If study material is required, it will be provided at no cost. If the challenge is unsuccessful, the individual will be offered the opportunity to take a Level 1 course – at no tuition cost;
They can participate in a course at the Fort Nelson campus, or any OFA Level 1 course offered at any NLC campus - at no tuition cost. Upon successful completion of the Level 1 course in its entirety, a new OFA Level 1 certificate will be issued.

“This is an unfortunate situation that has arisen,” said College President D. Jean Valgardson. “The College wants to assure all affected individuals that they did nothing to create this situation, and that everything possible will be done to facilitate the proper completion of their OFA Level 1 certification.”

The next step is to look at the compliance issues with the College and with the two contracted instructors who were teaching the course.

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the penalties could include stripping instructors of their ability to teach this program.

WorkSafe BC’s Donna Freeman says they are hoping employers will hear of the problem and take a close look at the qualifications of those on payroll who are to have a Level 1 first aid certificate. Freeman says there haven’t been any reports of incidents involving injured workers and the non certified students.

If you think you may be one of the individuals affected by this situation, or you want information on challenging the exam or re-taking the Level 1 course, contact the Fort Nelson campus of Northern Lights College at (250) 774-2741 or 1-866-463-6652.

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Posted on Friday, July 27, 2007 04:09 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: jonnypg on July 27 2007 9:17 AM

How could this happen!

Posted by: whynotyou on July 27 2007 10:01 AM

An explanation would be considered "politically incorrect" or "discriminatory".

Posted by: trixyb on July 27 2007 10:33 AM

It is to my understanding that the level 1 certification is only valid for 2 years. This tickets were issued July 2005 therfore they have all since expired.

Posted by: Parrothead on July 27 2007 11:15 AM

trixb - I believe the article said "from" July 2005 - meaning everyone since then up to today.

Posted by: flowerchild on July 27 2007 11:17 AM

Not so trixyb. it says the certificates issued from July 2005 ....the problem I uderstand was discovered after the end of this school year, so it looks like students from 2005, 06 and 07 would be impacted.

Posted by: owl on July 27 2007 5:21 PM

An interesting situation.

Northern Lights College�s various campuses, including Fort Nelson, are WorkSafeBC Training Agencies.
http://www2.worksafebc.com/PDFs/FirstAid/FirstAid_training_providers.pdf

As such, they would have to hire certified first aid instructors. For due diligence, both the agency and the instructor ought to maintain original documentation from students on file for their records. It appears that neither did that or were aware that there should be some examinations since examinations, whether done or not, cannot be produced or the instructor(s) readily admit that examinations were never conducted.

I find it strange that two instructors would not have required the exam. One okay. But two? Unless one learned form the other how not to do things.

Who taught the instructors? Why did these two decide not to give the exam? Why did the College not require the exams to be turned over to them to be placed in the student files? I assume the College registered the students and took their money, and paid the instructors under contract. The College is thus the one that is required to keep the record. The instructor could move to the Dominican Republic and the proof for the student would not be there. The college registrar ought to be the keeper of the records.

Was the College the only place the two instructors taught? Typically there is not enough work in one location, so they are likely to be teaching somewhere else. Did they do exams at other places but not Northern Lights?

It says: �Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the penalties could include stripping instructors of their ability to teach this program.� I think it is more important that WorkSafeBC needs to strip the Fort Nelson Campus of its WorksafeBC Training Agency status. This is bad PR for the College. What other Continuing Ed courses are being handled in this fashion by the College?

Posted by: owl on July 27 2007 5:46 PM

In case anyone is wondering exactly whose neck is in jeopardy, here is the audit form required to be completed for the auditor looking at the Training Agency - that is the College, not the instructors.

http://www2.worksafebc.com/PDFs/firstaid/agencies/admin_forms/OFA_agency_audit.pdf

It speaks quite clearly about evidence of examinations, etc.

Student Documentation
�� Application form (terms & conditions agreement)
�� Medical certificate of fitness
�� Attendance records
�� Classroom achievement
�� Identification
�� Examination sheets (written & practical, first aid record and patient assessment charts)

Posted by: owl on July 27 2007 5:48 PM

BTW, why did it take WorkSafeBC this long to audit the system at Ft. Nelson?