Applying for OBC Membership FAQs

Members can source professional liability from a number of insurers, but OBC offers their members access to the BMS-CFO Liability Insurance Program. 

BMS will accept your professional liability insurance application by filling in the association field with OsteopathyBC and the membership number field with N/A. Indicate ‘Yes’ where it asks about ‘member in good standing with a Canadian Federation of Osteopath’s Provincial Association’. This way you will receive confirmation of your insurance. The insurance policy has a common renewal date, and the cost is pro-rated depending on the date you apply. 

Once you are approved for OBC membership, reach out to BMS and provide your membership number for them to update your file. BMS can offer a 30-day period from the time you apply for insurance to the time you receive your membership number. If you decide not to become an OBC member or your application was not approved, you are eligible for a BMS refund.

Please contact BMS at @email.

Video: BMS-CFO Program Intro

We do not encourage students to practice osteopathy outside of school. BMS insurance is only for members, and we are not promoting their student insurance.

Your osteopathic school may require you to purchase liability insurance to be able to practice at the school or for the student clinic. You will need to check with them if this is your situation. As a student you cannot bill or advertise as doing osteopathy because you have not graduated from your training.

You can join OBC now as a student member and find out more about the osteopathic profession in BC along with how to advertise as a student, receiving the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, and being part of the osteopathic community in pursuit of regulation and recognition in healthcare.

This link will lead you to OBC member categories: https://www.osteopathybc.ca/membership.

Members of OsteopathyBC must demonstrate they meet minimum educational requirements to practice manual osteopathy as required under the World Health Organization 2010 Benchmarks for Training in Osteopathy Benchmarks. These include:

1. Type I training programs: These are minimum four-year undergraduate programs that include supervised clinical practice at an appropriate osteopathic clinical facility as an essential component. Students typically are required to complete a thesis or final project. A full-time undergraduate program is offered at a publicly-funded college in Ontario and a private college in Quebec.
2. Type II training programs: These programs can be accessed only by those with prior training as healthcare professionals. Type 2 programs have the same aims and competency requirements as Type 1 programs, but the course content and length may be modified depending on the prior training and experience of individual applicants.

The competencies required of graduates of either program are the same. There are many Osteopathy programs, including those that provide training online, that cannot demonstrate they meet the WHO Benchmarks and therefore cannot be considered for OBC membership. 

You can apply for membership, but OBC is not responsible for checking or confirming an applicant’s work status in Canada as part of the membership approval process. If you are accepted as a member and your application for a work permit is not approved, your membership fees will not be refunded. Additionally, if your work permit does not get approved by the time your membership is set to begin, OBC can only retain your application for six months. Otherwise, you will need to reapply.

Members must agree to abide by the Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics. If you do not do so, your online application will not be accepted.

Every OBC members must complete 50 hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) every 2 years. You do not need to demonstrate that you have completed CPD for your application.

During the membership application process, you will be given information and access to the CRC application site. This service is free of charge through OsteopathyBC. Please allow adequate time, up to two weeks, for the Criminal Records Review Program (CRRP) office to process your application.

You must check with your emergency training provider if your certification is equivalent or higher than Standard First Aid and CPR-C (cardiopulmonary resuscitation level C). You are required to have both indicated on your certificate(s). 

Accepted BC certifications are Canadian Red Cross, Lifesaving Society, St. John Ambulance, Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Canadian Ski Patrol. 

For training received outside of Canada, applicants will need to provide with their certification written confirmation that their training facility meets BC/Canadian course standards. Dedicated online training is not acceptable.