Foot Care Canada

The Mission of Foot Care Canada is to advance the practice of foot care through a collaborative and networking process for all individuals providing foot care.

Goals

Executive committee

Organizational chart

Position details

National Chair

Qualifications: One foot care nurse educator/manager. A strong advocate for the advancement of foot care skills and national guidelines development. Experience with evidence-based/best practice, research, education, management, development of policy and procedures, committees, curriculum development, and working with an editor an asset.

Estimate approximately 75 to100 hours per year (3 year appointment)

Job Description:

  1. Responsible for communication/liaison between the Co-chairs, national associations, and national sponsors.
  2. Shares responsibility with the Co-Chairs to monitor Foot Care Canada’s e-mail account and forward regional concerns to the appropriate Co-Chair.
  3. Responsible for collating regional and national foot care activity updates into a yearly report.
  4. Shares responsibility with the Co-Chairs to review applications for Foot Care Canada positions.
  5. Actively participates in, promotes, and supports national initiatives.
  6. Promotes and supports the development of regional initiatives.
  7. Assist the Co-Chair as needed.

Regional Co-Chair

Qualifications: Four foot care nurse educators/managers, one from each national region (Eastern, Central, Northern, and Western) that are strong advocates for the advancement of foot care skills and national guidelines development. Experience with evidence-based/best practice, research, education, management, newsletter/journal writing skills, and development of policy and procedures an asset.

Estimate approximately 50 to 75 hours per year (3 year appointment)

Job Description:

  1. Responsible for communication between the Chair and the region’s Provincial/Territorial Advisors, nursing associations, and governing bodies.
  2. Shares responsibility with the Chair to monitor Foot Care Canada’s e-mail account and forward regional concerns to the appropriate Co-Chair and national concerns to the Chair.
  3. Responsible for sending regional foot care activity updates to the Chair and the Co-Chairs.
  4. Shares responsibility with the Chair to review applications for Foot Care Canada positions.
  5. Actively participates in, promotes, and supports national initiatives.
  6. Promotes and supports the development regional initiatives.
  7. Assist the Chair as needed.

Provincial/Territorial Advisor

Qualifications: One to two foot care nurses/educators/managers are required per province and territory that are strong advocates for the advancement of foot care skills and national guidelines development. Experience with evidence-based/best practice, research, education, and/or development of policy and procedure an asset.

Estimate approximately 25 to 50 hours per year (2 year appointment)

Job Description:

  1. Responsible for communication between the Co-Chair within your region and foot care nurses, health care managers, nursing educators, clinical or evidence-based authors/researchers, local foot care suppliers, speakers, and sponsors within your province/territory.
  2. Responsible for sending province/territory foot care activity updates to the Co-Chairs.
  3. Actively participates in, promotes, and supports national initiatives.
  4. Promotes and supports the development regional initiatives.
  5. Assist the Co-Chair as needed.

Conference speaker

Speakers will help support Foot Care Canada through their presentations at Foot Care Canada’s regional/national educational events on foot care topics. Foot Care Canada could not exist without ongoing support from health care professionals sharing their evidence-based knowledge and skills. 

Foot Care Canada sponsor

Companies will help support Foot Care Canada through unrestricted educational grants for various Foot Care Canada projects, annual sponsorship fees, and attendance at Foot Care Canada’s regional/national educational events. Foot Care Canada could not exist without ongoing corporate support. 

Conference exhibitor

Companies will help support Foot Care Canada through attendance at Foot Care Canada’s regional/national educational events. Foot Care Canada could not exist without ongoing corporate support. 

Clinical or evidence-based author/researcher

Author/researchers will help support Foot Care Canada through their submission of clinical and/or evidence-based articles. Foot Care Canada could not exist without ongoing publications to support the development of national guidelines and to help raise awareness of Foot Care Canada’s goals.

Application process

We would like to thank you for your interest in Foot Care Canada! Foot Care Canada is currently managed by a volunteer founding committee of dedicated nurses.

To apply for positions, please send your application by e-mail to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). All applications will be reviewed within six months of receipt, at which time an e-mail will be sent to your contact e-mail address informing you of your eligibility status.

The information submitted will be kept confidential and used only by Foot Care Canada’s committee. Please refer regularly to Foot Care Canada for updates.

Application

  1. Subject Line: Include your full name, province, and the position you are applying for (ex/ Jane Doe, ON Advisor).
  2. Application Content: Use Font 12, black, Times New Roman to list the following information:
    • Date
    • List which position(s) you are applying for:
      • National Chair
      • Regional Co-Chair
      • Provincial/Territorial Advisor (for Quebec only: complete application in both French and English)
      • Conference speaker
      • Foot Care Canada sponsor
      • Conference exhibitor
      • Clinical or evidence-based author/researcher

    • List the following personal information:

      • Contact e-mail address
      • Name  
      • Professional designation(s)
      • Educational achievements
      • Mailing address              
      • Phone numbers
      • Website (if applicable)

    • List the following business information:

      • Company/Employer Name
      • Type of business (i.e. nursing foot care service, foot care products sales, health care education…)
      • Mailing Address              
      • Phone numbers/email address/website

    • Please include relevant links and sources in APA format as applicable in the following:

      • Include a brief biography (50 words maximum)
      • Describe why you feel you would compliment Foot Care Canada and how (100 words maximum)
      • Speakers, authors, and researchers only: include an abstract (200 words maximum)

Thank you in advance for your application.

National Foot Care Canada conference

The 1st National Foot Care Canada Conference will be held in Kingston, Ontario. It will take place May 28–May 30, 2010 at St. Lawrence College. If you are interested in attending as a supplier, speaker or participant, please send your contact information and your intentions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Atlantic Foot Care Nurses conference

In September 2008 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Foot Care Nurses Conference was attended by 112 foot care nurses, several excellent speakers, and dozens of suppliers from Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba.

Prior to the conference, a group of 19 foot care nurses, educators, and managers from across Canada met in Halifax for a Foot Care Canada general meeting. The nurses present discussed how to advance national foot care nurse guidelines for skills, education, and eventual certification. We reviewed Foot Care Canada’s mission, goals, and committee (see below). We also discussed how Foot Care Canada has evolved since its first meetings in:

Following the Foot Care Canada meeting where there was much discussion about the diversity of education, the role of foot care nurses across Canada, the differences between ‘certified’ and ‘certificate of competence or completion,’ it was agreed to proceed with defining the role of the foot care nurse.

Next steps

The Provincial Advisors will collaborate with colleagues in their province to create and expand a definition of the role of the foot care nurse by February 1, 2009.

  1. Provincial and Territorial Advisors (see below for application format and job descriptions)
  2. Policies and procedures
  3. National communication strategy to reach approximately 3,000 to 6,000 foot care nurses across Canada
  4. The Executive Committee will participate in conference calls every one or two months in order to continue with the development of Foot Care Canada

What can you do?

The committee of Foot Care Canada is comprised of volunteers without funding or office support. We would like to take this opportunity to invite any interested foot care nurse, regulatory body, educator, and/or policy-maker to become involved in Foot Care Canada by: