OHS Safety Leadership for Supervisors

Safety Leadership for Supervisors is designed for BCNU members who hold supervisory responsibilities within healthcare settings. Under WorkSafeBC, a supervisor is defined as anyone who instructs, directs, or controls workers in their work activities, regardless of job title. This includes both roles where individuals have responsibility for directing work and ensuring workers’ health and safety.

This course builds on foundational Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) principles while focusing on the specific legal duties, leadership expectations, and practical challenges supervisors face in their roles.

Participants will explore the legal framework under the Workers Compensation Act and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, with emphasis on supervisors’ responsibilities, due diligence, and the Internal Responsibility System. Through real-world healthcare scenarios, the course strengthens supervisors’ ability to identify hazards, support worker safety rights, respond to refusals of unsafe work, collaborate effectively with Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committees (JOHSC), and lead safety-focused communication within their teams.

This course supports supervisors with varying levels of OHS experience and provides practical tools to help navigate organizational barriers, incident reporting, investigations, psychological health and safety concerns, and continuous improvement in workplace safety culture.

Course Format

This course includes:

• Live session: An interactive session focused on practical application, discussion, and scenario-based learning relevant to healthcare supervisory roles.
• Downloadable online resources: Tools and reference materials to support supervisors in applying OHS responsibilities in their workplaces and sharing knowledge with their teams.

Note: There are no pre-course preparation requirements. All materials are provided for use during and after the course.

Course Requirements

BCNU members who hold supervisory responsibilities, meaning they instruct, direct, or control the work of other workers as part of their duties. Supervisory responsibility is based on function rather than job title or level and may apply to nurses at any level (L2/4/5) when they are directing the work of others.

Pre-requisites:

1. BCNU Active Member

2. Supervisory role (L2/L4/L5)

When:

Where: