Quality Assurance

Promoting excellence in professional services

Quality assurance is a core component of the Standards of Good Regulation as outlined by the Nova Scotia Regulated Health Professions Network. Quality assurance extends beyond mere compliance with established standards. It’s all about fostering a culture of continuous improvement, where professionals are encouraged to consistently enhance their skills and knowledge. Through regular assessments, evaluations, and feedback mechanisms, we strive to achieve this goal.

Building trust & confidence

Quality assurance plays a pivotal role in earning public trust and confidence. When professionals adhere to recognized standards and continually strive for excellence, it assures the public about the reliability and quality of the services they receive. This trust is integral to building strong, supportive relationships between professionals and the communities they serve.

Safeguarding users’ interests

Moreover, quality assurance safeguards the interests of service users. This involves ensuring that services are delivered ethically, effectively, and responsibly. It’s about holding professionals and systems accountable for their actions and making sure any concerns or complaints are addressed appropriately. In essence, it promotes safer practices for society’s most vulnerable members, which aligns with the priorities of our Safe(r) Social Work framework.

Our approach

The purpose of quality assurance is two-pronged: it aims to support professionals in delivering the best possible services while protecting the rights and interests of those who rely on these services. To ensure this, we have established a comprehensive and systematic approach:

  1. Annual Randomized QA Process: A sub-committee of the Board of Examiners conducts an annual randomized quality assurance process. Designed to confirm adherence to professional development standards, this thorough review maintains the profession’s integrity and ensures a uniform application of standards across all members.
  2. Selection Criteria for Professional Development Activities: Entries are weighted against criteria for professional development activities. These include:
    • Relevance: Professional development should be practice-based, align with specific goals, and be relevant to the member’s area of practice or NSCSW’s mandatory PD content. 
    • Collaboration: Professional development should incorporate multiple perspectives from social work practitioners, leaders, researchers, and first-voice perspectives. It should promote understanding of various influences impacting clients. 
    • Justice-Focused: Professional development should promote a social work practice committed to social justice, reflecting value-based culture and NSCSW Social Policy Framework and Code of Ethics. 
    • Practice-based: Professional development should focus on improving client outcomes, emphasizing application of theory into practice and its impact on diverse clients. 
    • Future-focused: Professional development should equip social workers to adapt to rapid changes, encouraging innovation and equipping them to generate new responses to existing challenges. 
    • Critical Thinking and Self-Reflection: Professional development should encourage self-reflection and reshaping of understanding, promoting awareness of bias and systemic racism, and integrating new learning into practice. 
    • Sustained, Sustainable and Applicable: Professional development should be implemented consistently over time, providing resources to support and evaluate impact, ensuring changes in practice and client outcomes. 
  3. Assessment Using Selection Criteria: We apply these criteria to the activities submitted by members, assessing whether their independently selected professional development activities align with our priorities and contribute effectively to ongoing growth.

Reporting

mail_outline