CHAPA Competency Profile

This Competency Profile includes the knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes required by Hearing Aid Practitioners in Alberta. No one Hearing Aid Practitioner is required to possess all competencies described in this document. Each practitioner will possess a set of competencies specific to him/her and his/her workplace, setting or practice. In addition, the degree of proficiency of each competency will vary with different practitioners.

Hearing testThe competencies defined in the Profile may be attained by Hearing Aid Practitioners in many different ways. Some competencies will be acquired through formal education. Other competencies may be gained through experience and/or on-the-job training. Some competencies are gained through advanced training, education and/or certification. Competencies seen to be “advanced” and gained specifically through additional training are identified in the Profile by shading.


Purpose of the Profile

The purpose of this Profile is to:

  • outline the competencies of Alberta Hearing Aid Practitioners;
  • provide a foundation for the College of Hearing Aid Practitioners of Alberta’s continuing competence programs;
  • serve as a guideline for the development of competency assessment tools and methods, performance management systems, and Hearing Aid Practitioners’ job descriptions;
  • provide a reference for the practitioner’s ongoing self-assessment of competence;
  • provide direction to post-secondary institutional programs regarding essential curriculum components;
  • serve as a reference to inform employers and other stakeholders of the competence and potential of Hearing Aid Practitioners in the health care team; and,
  • provide baseline information and reference for long-term manpower planning for health care.

 

The Profile is NOT intended to:

  • be inclusive of all possible competencies required by Hearing Aid Practitioners. Some competencies may have been inadvertently missed.
  • represent the competencies that all Hearing Aid Practitioners must achieve;
  • specify obligations and/or requirements of Hearing Aid Practitioners for third party agencies or any other outside party; and
  • be permanent and must be updated on a regular basis as requirements and technologies change.


Structure of the Document

The competency profile begins with the Competency Profile Chart. The chart is organized into competency bands (A through G). Each competency band is comprised of competency clusters. Each competency cluster is made up of elements and sub-elements. Some competencies are common to more than one competency cluster and so may be repeated.

Each competency cluster is rated with a “priority rating”, which appears in the bottom left-hand corner of the specific cluster on the profile chart and at the top of the page of the individual cluster description. The priority rating for each competency cluster may vary for individual practitioners depending on their individual practice. Not all elements and sub-elements within a cluster necessarily share the cluster priority rating; the priority rating applies to the overall competency cluster and to the “average” Hearing Aid Practitioner.


Future of the Document

This competency profile is meant to be a “living document;” it will evolve and change as hearing aid technology evolves and changes. The College of Hearing Aid Practitioners of Alberta welcomes comments and suggestions so that the document can be continuously improved and refined.