NIDMAR Celebrates 25 Years

An event was held in Vancouver on December 2 to recognize and celebrate NIDMAR’s 25 Years of developing and implementing professional and program standards in the field of Disability Management and Return to Work.

Speaking at the event were the Honourable Shane Simpson, BC’s Minister for Social Development and Poverty Reduction; MP for Courtenay-Alberni, Gord Johns; international guests from Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom; and founding and current NIDMAR Co-Chairs. A presentation was also made on the Enhanced Disability Management Program (EDMP) re the joint collaboration between the unions and the employers across the health care sector in BC.

For further information regarding the event and the various initiatives that NIDMAR has successfully undertaken over the last 25 years, please see details in the bulletin attached – highlights are:

– Establishment of the Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS), a statutory, not-for-profit, post secondary, degree granting University focused in the areas of health and safety, health promotion, disability management and return to work, and rehabilitation.

– Development, validation, and promotion of Occupational Standards in Disability Management, and the associated professional certification examinations, now adopted in 64 countries and referenced in the ISSA global best practice guidelines on Return to Work and Reintegration

– Developed, tested and validated a three-level consensus-based Disability Management / Return to Work program assessment protocol – the basis for which was used to create the EDMP in the health care sector in BC.

– Creation of the biennial international congress – the International Forum on Disability Management – NIDMAR hosted the first IFDM in 2002, and brought it back to Vancouver in 2018 hosted by PCU-WHS following successful IFDMs hosted around the world in the intervening years.

To view the Gallery of Photos, click on the following link: Gallery of Photos

For further information, please contact:
Email: nidmar@nidmar.ca

More Information

First CSPDM Conference Received Highly Positive Response from Attendees

The CSPDM hosted its first conference in Toronto on October 23 to a sold out audience. The theme of the conference was: Innovative Workplace Disability Management for Better Outcomes.

There were many questions from audience members to the speakers and lively discussions that took place throughout the day.
The overall response by attendees to the conference was very positive and there were many suggestions received for topic areas to be included in the next Conference.
CSPDM Board Chair, Evie DoCouto said of the event, “We need to keep evolving to meet new challenges, as our workforce becomes more diverse, and the injuries and illnesses we’re seeing become more complex. The conference was an outstanding opportunity for us to come together as a profession, connect with each other, and learn from leading experts about best practices and the latest research and innovations in disability management.”
All presentations from the conference are available on the website at:

CDMP and CRTWC Certificates Awarded in Canada

Two events were recently held in Canada – one in British Columbia and one in Ontario – for the presentation of CDMP and CRTWC certificates, and 10-year pins to those who have maintained their professional designations for 10 years.

The Honourable Harry Bains, BC’s Minister of Labour, attended the event in Burnaby, BC and said of the event, “It was wonderful to be a part of a celebration for graduates of the Certified Disability Management Professional (CDMP) certificate program at the BC Nurses’ Union. BC’s professional network to support injured workers to return to work just got a little bigger.”

A second event was held in Toronto during the Conference hosted by the Canadian Society of Professionals in Disability Management (CSPDM) when the CDMP and CRTWC certificates and 10-Year Pins were presented by IDMSC Co-Chair Prof. Dr. Joachim Breuer and Chair of the CSPDM Evie DoCouto who is Vice President, Return-to-Work Program at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario.

Prof. Dr. Joachim Breuer said of the event, “There’s no successful inclusion of sick or injured people without a return to work philosophy; there’s no successful return to work without highly qualified experts who guide the process; and there would be no experts of such kind without the worldwide accepted certification for disability managers and return to work coordinators from NIDMAR.”

Please see the attached Communiqué for quotes from the main speakers at the events along with photos. More Information

Scottish Government Hosts Event Awarding of Certificates

An Awards event was held September 23 at the Dunfermline Carnegie Conference Centre in the Kingdom of Fife, Scotland, to recognise 24 individuals who successfully completed the NIDMAR training program and the 29 individuals who successfully passed the CDMP examination, gaining their CDMP designation. For further details, please click on the following link to read the IDMSC Communiqué.

CSPDM 2019 Conference

The Canadian Society of Professionals in Disability Management (CSPDM) is hosting a conference on October 23, 2019 in Toronto with the theme, Innovative Workplace Disability Management for Better Outcomes.
 
The topics of the conference will be:
– Linking Prevention with Disability Management
– Workplace Mental Health Accommodations and Solutions
– Innovative Approaches to Supporting Workers with Chronic Conditions
– Stakeholder Partnerships in Disability Management
– Disability Management: International Perspectives
 
The conference will be of interest to professionals who interact with individuals experiencing injury or illness with the goal of return to or staying at work. The conference is open to all: members and non-members of the CSPDM.
 
For more information, please visit the CSPDM website at:

Scottish Government Funds Training for 300 CDMPs Over Five Years

The Scotland Government has invested in the provision of a five-year program aimed at training up to 300 individuals to become Certified Disability Management Professionals (CDMPs) to serve the country’s public and private sector groups dedicated to maintaining meaningful employment for workers with long term health conditions, injuries or disabilities.

Attached please find the IDMSC Communiqué with further details.

WorkSafeBC Scholarship Provides Career Opportunities

Please find attached a News Release regarding a joint WorkSafeBC – Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS) initiative announced March 8 which provides interested students with the opportunity to receive an annual $6,000 Scholarship for each of the last two years of the Bachelor of Disability Management program at PCU-WHS.

There is an increasing focus on better Return to Work outcomes for individuals who acquire a mental or physical health impairment while employed, as there is significant evidence that all too often, when continued employment is not maintained, the individual with a disability starts the slide towards poverty, homelessness, addiction or worse.

Improved Disability Management efforts have become a priority for Workers Compensation Boards, employers, unions, and other stakeholders right across the country.

In the process, systematic initiatives by many organizations are creating tremendous and increasing professional opportunities in the field of Disability Management and Return to Work, while also being able to positively influence socio-economic outcomes for many.

This WorkSafeBC initiative is a first, with potentially a number of others to follow, and is a strat

May 29, 2019 Date for Certification Examinations

The date has been set for the 2019 CDMP and CRTWC professional certification examinations, which will take place across Canada, the UK, and Hong Kong on May 29, 2019.
The deadline for applications is April 12, 2019.
For further details, please click on the appropriate link below:

CDMP Certification Examination

CRTWC Certification Examination

Or, please contact NIDMAR directly at:

Tel: 778-421-0821, ext. 210
Email: nidmar@nidmar.ca

MOU Signed with CIESS for Promotion of Disability Management to its Members

In late January, a MOU was signed between the Inter-American Center for Social Security Studies (CIESS) and the Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS) and the National Institute of Disability Management and Research (NIDMAR).

The CIESS, headquartered in Mexico City has developed programs of activities that address priority aspects of social security for their region which encompasses the Americas and the Caribbean, covering 36 countries and a membership of more than 80 institutions.

The MOU creates the opportunity for the adoption of educational programming and the best practice professional and program standards in Return to Work and Disability Management for the member organizations of the CIESS, and expands the global membership in the International Disability Management Standards Council (IDMSC) to 64 countries.

It is hoped that the further adoption of best practice standards in Disability Management and Return to Work will help change the narrative with regard to detrimental outcomes when an individual with a disability does not have a return to work option and is forced into poverty, homelessness, addiction or potentially worse scenarios.

We congratulate the CIESS on their leadership.
More Information

New Board of Directors of CSPDM Holds First Meeting

The new Board of Directors for the Society held its first meeting recently and are reviewing a range of opportunities, recognizing the increased attention on Disability Management and Return to Work at a provincial, national and international level, as all levels of government are seeing the rising incidence of poverty, homelessness and addiction, and how it is related to a correspondingly low rate of return to work following onset of a mental or physical health impairment.

CSPDM Connections Newsletter Vol 5 Issue 2 January 2019