News & Events

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

International Forum on Disability Management – Towards IFDM 2020 – Brussels

During the conclusion of IFDM 2018 held in Vancouver, Canada, October 15-17, attended by 400 delegates from 30 countries, organized by the Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS), the handover took place to Brussels, site of the 10th International Biennial Congress on Disability Management and Return to Work – IFDM 2020 – to be hosted by the Belgium Federal Social Security Organization, INAMI. To view the bulletin with further details, please click on the following link: More information

Prior to the handover to Belgium, the Hon. Wayne G. Wouters, PC, OC, Chancellor of PCU-WHS and Master of Ceremonies for IFDM 2018, read the IFDM 2018 Canada Declaration, which sets out a series of challenges and opportunities for relevant stakeholders on a range of key initiatives which could be undertaken and contribute towards achieving much improved and sustained social and economic outcomes for disabled workers, employers, and our society at large. The Canada Declaration is available for downloading and viewing on the IFDM 2018 website at: www.ifdm2018.com

Over 80 Presentations were delivered by experts from 20 countries during the conference. These have been uploaded to the IFDM 2018 website. Please click on the tab marked Program on the website and click on the links provided in the titles of the Plenary presentations as well as of the Concurrent Workshop presentation titles.

To view the Gallery of Photos taken at IFDM 2018, please visit the IFDM 2018 website and click on the tab marked Gallery of Photos.

To view the Welcome videos from Federal Ministers Carla Qualtrough and Patty Hajdu and BC Premier John Horgan, please click on the tab marked Video Library on the website.

IFDM 2018 – Second Update

Keynote Address: Bill C-81, An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada
We are pleased to announce that Ms. Yazmine Laroche, Deputy Minister, Public Service Accessibility, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, will be the opening keynote speaker taking place on Monday, October 15, 9:00 am – 10:00 am. Ms. Laroche was appointed to this position by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on August 7, 2018 with a mandate to lead the Government’s public service accessibility agenda. For further details, please see the attached Second Update.

International Forum on Disability Management – IFDM 2018 – Update

We are pleased to confirm the participants for the IFDM Plenary Panel taking place Tuesday, October 16, at 8:45 am – 10:15 am in the Plenary entitled:

The Disappearing Workplace: Challenges and Opportunities for Workers Compensation Systems
This distinguished Panel will be chaired by Dr. Joachim Breuer, Director General of the German Federal Workers Compensation System – DGUV of Berlin, and President of the International Social Security Association – ISSA of Geneva.
For details regarding the Panel members, please see the attached Update.

Continuing Professional Development Opportunities at PCU-WHS

PCU-WHS is open to accepting Certified Disability Management Professionals (CDMPs) and Certified Return to Work Coordinators (CRTWCs) who wish to gain Continuing Education Credits in order to maintain professional certification.

Each term of the academic year, the University offers a selection of courses that may be of interest to practising CDMPs and CRTWCs through its online learning platform. These courses are taught by highly qualified and experienced professors using an instructional format that allows flexibility for learners as to when and how they participate. This approach offers a convenient way for career professionals to integrate continuing education into their busy schedules. Currently, applications are open for the following course:

WHDM 404: Economics of Workplace Health Initiatives

The course takes place from September 10 to December 2.

Please click on the link below to view the Learning Objectives for the course and the instructor bio: Continuing Education Opportunity at PCU-WHS Fall 2018

Successful completion of the course provides 40 CEC hours for CDMPs and CRTWCs.

For registration information, please visit the PCU-WHS website at:
https://www.pcu-whs.ca/admissions/admissions-process/

Or contact Jennifer Murray, Student Services & Records Coordinator at: education@pcu-whs.ca or phone: 1-778-421-0821, ext. 209.

Honourable Seamus O’Regan visits PCU-WHS Campus

The Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS) was most pleased to host the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Federal Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence at its campus today. The Minister was very interested to learn more about the broader area of Return to Work / Disability Management, both in Canada and around the world. For further details, please see newsletter attached.

As a result of the visit, the Minister issued several tweets on his Twitter account, which can be viewed on the PCU-WHS Twitter account at: https://twitter.com/pcuwhs

INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON DISABILITY MANAGEMENT – IFDM 2018

REGISTRATION is available online. To register, please go to the IFDM 2018 website at: IFDM 2018
Click on the tab, “Registration”.
To view the Preliminary Program, click on the tab, “Program”.
The International Disability Management Standards Council (IDMSC), working in collaboration with the IFDM conferences, provides confirmation of 20 CEC hours to current holders of the CDMP and CRTWC professional designations who attend the full IFDM conference and optimize all learning activities.

PCU-WHS signs agreement with Pilon School of Business at Sheridan College

An agreement signed between the Pilon School of Business at Sheridan College and Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences (PCU-WHS) allows students who have completed the diploma program in Human Resources to transfer their credits from Sheridan towards the Bachelor of Disability Management at PCU-WHS.

The Bachelor of Disability Management is the first – and only – degree of this nature and level internationally. It provides graduates with the underpinning of knowledge, skills and competencies to assist absent workers to return to work and employing organizations to promote and protect the health of workers.

“In my opinion a significant piece of the future of human resources will involve disability management and return to work,” says Shady Hana, a Professor and HR Program Coordinator at Sheridan College. “This is especially true with aspects of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) coming into play within the next three to five years here in Ontario. The partnership with PCU-WHS provides a priceless opportunity for our students to learn about this growing field.”

More information

Official Ryerson Press Release regarding Daphne Taras Board Member of PCU-WHS

On behalf of the Board of Governors of PCU-WHS, Co-Chairs Dean Winsor (Employer Co-Chair & VP-HR, Teck Resources) and Ken Neumann (Labour Co-Chair & National Director, United Steelworkers), we extend sincerest congratulations to PCU-WHS Board Member Daphne Taras, PhD, on her recent appointment as Dean, Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University, Toronto. For complete details, please refer to the link below.