Background
The BC Center for Disease Control (BCCDC) Clinical Prevention Services (CPS) STI Education and Clinical Leadership teams develop and maintain the competencies and evidenced-based nursing DSTs for STI certified and non-certified nursing practices.
The STI DST review process was initiated by BCCDC in February 2013. A provincial working group (PWG) was established to form a collaborative, nurse-driven, STI DST revision process.
Working group membership included practicing RN(C)s and Nurse Leaders from each health authority and Options for Sexual Health. DST revisions were facilitated by the BCCDC CPS Education and Clinical Leadership Teams in collaboration with monthly PWG Member teleconferences.
Non-certified STI nursing practices fall within sections 6 and 7 of the Nurse Registered, Nurse Practitioner Regulation. Non-certified STI DSTs are located in Chapter Five of the BCCDC Communicable Disease (CD) Manual.
STI Certified Practices in Reproductive Health fall under Section 8 of the Nurse Registered, Nurse Practitioner Regulation. The certified practice (CP) STI DSTs are hosted on the CRNBC website.
STI DST review process
A complete review of Certified Practice STI DSTs was completed in 2013. This was followed by a review of Non-Certified Practice STI DSTs, which was initiated in March 2014.
The STI DST review was guided by the following objectives:
- Clearly articulated PWG membership
- Established revision processes with timelines
- Updated literature review for each DST
- Integration of end-user feedback to understand various contextual factors (e.g., rural practice settings and varied client populations)
- Meeting minutes to track decision-making processes
- Clear channels for feedback on revisions
In 2014, the following Non-Certified Practice STI DSTs were reviewed and revised:
- Vulvovaginal Candidiasis
- Candidal Balanitis (Yeast Balanitis)
- Scabies
- Pubic Lice
- Molluscum Contagiosum
- Syphilis
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
- Epididymitis
- Proctitis
- Genital Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV)*
*The Genital HSV DST has been reviewed by the provincial working group and is currently still in the review/editing process. This DST will be published in Chapter 5 of the BCCDC CD Manual once final edits are completed.
The following logic model outlines resource and process requirements for STI DST development and revisions at BCCDC:
Knowledge translation
In October 2014, 2013 CRNBC STI DST Revision and 2014 Non-Certified DST Revisions – Updates was presented as a continuing nursing education (CNE) session on the VCH PHSA Mediasite by Cheryl Prescott and Dr. Carolyn Montgomery. The session offered a review of the 2013 CP STI DST revisions, an overview of the 2014 non-certified STI DST revisions to-date and a review of the new Syphilis Enzyme Immune-Acid (EIA) testing platform implemented by the BC Public Health Microbiology Reference Lab in August 2014.
This year, another CNE session will be hosted on the VCH PHSA Mediasite on September 9, 2015. Facilitated by Cheryl Prescott, this session will summarize highlights of the 2014 BCCDC non-certified practice STI DST review. The upcoming session will be announced through the STI DST Provincial Working group prior to the September presentation.