Working within the statutory requirements for all Ontario Health Regulatory Colleges, the College views it’s Quality Assurance Programs as a means of supporting members in maintaining their knowledge, skills and experience throughout their careers. The Programs are intended to be supportive rather than investigative. Whenever participation in Quality Assurance leads to identification of the need for remediation, this information remains confidential within the College. Member specific information about Quality Assurance involvement is not publicly available.
Members are required to declare completion of the quality assurance program requirements on a regular basis. The timing of this is dependent upon their certificate/class of registration and registration number.
Self-Assessment
On June 30, 2021, 2182 members of the College, including those with odd numbered Certificates of Registration for Autonomous Practice, or a Certificate of Registration for Supervised Practice or Interim Autonomous Practice were required to make an on-line Declaration of Completion of the College’s Self-Assessment Guide (SAG). A total of 2137 members made the declaration by the deadline. Two members that had not submitted their Declarations were found to have resigned from the College. The Quality Assurance Committee granted 19 members extensions to the deadline because of exceptional circumstances and has notified the remaining 24 members that they must provide their completed SAG to the Committee for review.
Continuing Professional Development
On June 30th, 2021, 2050 members of the College with odd registration numbers were required to make an on-line Declaration of Completion of the requirements of the College’s Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Program (CPD). A total of 29 members did not meet this deadline. One of these members has resigned from the College. Extensions to the deadline were granted to 14 members because of exceptional circumstances and the remaining 14 members have been informed that they must submit their full set of CPD materials to the Committee for review.
It was recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic may have limited some opportunities to participate in CPD activities. To accommodate this, a special Declaration was created to allow members to attest that they had made best efforts to meet the required number of credits but were unable to do so, for this reason. While most members were able to meet the full requirements, 221 members utilized the alternate Declaration.
Peer Assisted Reviews
Physical distancing measures necessary to decrease the spread of COVID-19 led to the postponement of many in-person Peer Assisted Reviews. Members who had begun the Peer Assisted Review (PAR) process prior to the pandemic in 2020, but did not completed it, were offered the opportunity to participate in the PAR via technology. Most have opted to defer completion of the review until it can be conducted safely in-person. To date, six PARs have been conducted successfully via secure technology. It is hoped that the PAR program will be operating in full force as soon as safely possible.
While the PAR is a requirement for those selected for participation by the College, the Quality Assurance Committee has suggested that members may wish to voluntarily use the structured Peer Assisted Review materials as an aid to self-reflection and identification of any areas they may wish to address. Members wishing to involve a peer/colleague in examining their professional activities are eligible to claim up to 10 CPD credits.