The College is pleased to announce that Mary Buzzing, ENP, has been appointed to Council for the 2022-2025 term, which begins on July 1. Mary has been an ENP since the 1980s and a regulated member of the College since its inception in 2005. She brings experience with health care systems in Alberta and abroad, and expertise in interprofessional practice. Mary practices at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre and works in the provincial medical facility accreditation system through the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.

Mary is the first regulated member to join Council via the new appointment process, which replaced the previous election process. Regulated members from any specialty who were interested in joining Council submitted confidential nomination forms to the Nominations and Appointments Committee, who reviewed the nominations, interviewed potential candidates, and made a recommendation to Council after carefully considering a variety of factors. This decision was a difficult one due to the fact that there were more high-calibre nominations than have ever been received before.

The College thanks everyone who submitted a nomination form and encourages all regulated members to put their names forward when opportunities like this arise. Volunteers on Council and committees play an essential role in the regulation of MRTs and ENPs in Alberta. To learn more about how volunteers contribute to the College and sign up to receive notifications about volunteering opportunities, please see the Volunteering page.

New bylaws

The decision to move from elections to appointments was one of many that was made due to changes to the Health Professions Act (HPA) introduced by Bill 46. Another decision that was made was to update the College’s bylaws to prepare for the next phase of Bill 46’s implementation, which will require the development of new or amended college regulations, standards of practice, and bylaws.