From the Practice Advisors
Our practice advisors provide the answers to two common questions about the use of exclusive titles by health professionals regulated by CHCPBC.
1. Do I need to call myself a licensed professional after April 1, 2026?
As of April 1, 2026, all nine designated health professions regulated by CHCPBC are governed by the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA).
Under the Health and Care Professionals Regulation, the professional titles of these designated health professions are exclusive titles such as dietitian, hearing instrument practitioner, occupational therapist, optician, school psychologist, and speech and language pathologist/therapist. Only licensees of the College may use these reserved titles. In accordance with the CHCPBC Bylaws under the HPOA (ss.9.8 and 9.9), licensees in the provisional class and temporary class must use their title in conjunction with that licensure class (e.g. provisional dietitian or temporary psychologist).
It’s important to note that similar to how the term “Registered” in itself was not a reserved titled under the Health Professions Act, the term “Licensed” itself is not a reserved title; this means that even unregulated service providers can refer to themselves as licensed. Licensees are not encouraged to use the descriptor “Licensed” alongside their title to indicate their licensure status, but this is also not prohibited. Use of titles by licensees should follow the regulation, the bylaws, and the standards. Additional guidance, if necessary, may be provided in the future. The College has not established a list of abbreviations at this time.
2. Can I use the title Doctor?
The College has an FAQ that speaks to who may use the title “Doctor.”
Section 5(2) of the Health and Care Professionals Regulation provides that “…a licensee who is authorized under this regulation to use the title “doctor” must, in using the title, indicate clearly that the licensee is not a medical practitioner or is not authorized to practise medicine…”.
At present, optometry is the only designated health profession regulated by the College that is expressly authorised by the Regulation to use the title “doctor,” under s. 34. Subject to the approval by the College under s. 5(4), a person, including a licensee regulated by the College, may also use the title “doctor” when an academic or educational designation that consists of or includes that title under ss. 5(1) and (3).
Whether the licensee is authorized to use the title “doctor” under s. 5(2) or as part of an academic or educational designation under s. 5(1), the Regulation requires that the licensee clearly communicate that they are not authorized to practise medicine, under ss. 5(2) and (3).
The Regulation does not currently prescribe a specific method for meeting this requirement. Whether the clarification is sufficient will likely depend on the case and context. In some situations, clearly stating the individual’s designated health profession, such as audiology, optometry, physical therapy, or psychology/school psychology, may be adequate, while additional elaboration may be warranted at other times when the title “doctor” is being used as an academic or educational achievement. The underlying purpose is to ensure a licensee who is authorized to use the title “doctor” is not mistaken for a medical practitioner by the public unless they are separately licensed to practise medicine in BC.
Some examples of how the title “Doctor” may be used by a licensee with the academic or educational designation:
- Ming Chen, Au.D.,Audiologist
- Raman Dhillon, Ph.D., Dietitian
- John Peterson, DPT, Physical Therapist
- Ayesha Syed, Ph.D., Psychologist
- Amelie Tremblay, PsyD, School Psychologist
Resources
- “Exclusive Titles,” BC Ministry of Health
- Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA)
- Health and Care Professionals Regulation
- “Frequently Asked Questions about the Health Professions and Occupations Act,” CHCPBC
About the Practice Support service
CHCPBC has profession-specific Practice Advisors for each of the nine professions the College regulates. Questions that are sent by licensees will be answered by a Practice Advisor in the same profession. Submissions are treated confidentially.
Our practice advisors provide guidance on how regulation may be interpreted and can be implemented in practice. The goal is to assist licensees to find solutions to their practice issues given the complexity of healthcare delivery today.
Anyone – licensees or members of the public – with a question about CHCPBC’s expectations for safe, ethical and quality practice is welcome to contact our Practice Support team.
