IMPACT OF COVID-19
Physical distancing measures necessary to decrease the spread of COVID-19 have led to the postponement of in- person Peer Assisted Reviews and to flexibility in upcoming Quality Assurance deadlines. Specific details regarding these changes have been shared with members involved in Peer Assisted Reviews or those whose Quality Assurance Declarations of Completion are due this summer.
The QA Committee and staff are continuing to work remotely to to update and enhance the QA program and to ensure that the College’s Quality Assurance statutory requirements continue to be met.
SELF-ASSESSMENT
The Self-Assessment Guide and Continuing Profession Development Plan (SAG) has been updated. New legislation, marked as “NEW”, has been added and some sections of the SAG have been reorganized in response to members’ comments about sections they found confusing in the past.
The biggest change to the Self-Assessment Guide has been the addition of section VII, the Self-Care Plan. This section was developed by the Quality Assurance Committee and is consistent with the initiatives of regulators across professions and jurisdictions to assist professionals in protecting their own well being and, consequently, their ability to provide services competently and ethically. Even those members who are not required to complete a Self- Assessment this year are encouraged to review this new section and use it voluntarily.
PEER ASSISTED REVIEWS
There are three ways a member can be selected to participate in a Peer Assisted Review:
- Failure to participate in the Self-Assessment as required by the Quality Assurance Committee, as set out in the Quality Assurance Regulation;
- Random selection from the entire membership excluding retired members; or
- Random selection from a specified group in a process known as Stratified Random Selection
The focus of stratified random sampling during 2019 – 2020 was on members providing supervision. Unfortunately, the completion of many of these reviews were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Once this group of reviews has been completed and aggregate results are available, we hope to provide the membership with helpful information gained from these reviews.
During 2020 – 2021, the QA Committee plans to focus the stratified random sampling on members who have been registered for between five and ten years. This was based upon the recommendation of several past Peer Assisted Review participants who suggested that while the experience was a helpful one, it would have been even more helpful earlier in their careers.
Many members express anxiety about being reviewed and this is understandable. In an effort to provide as much information about the process as possible, we are now providing the full, unedited feedback from all of the Post Survey Responses. Overall, this survey information suggests that most respondents found the Peer Assisted Review experience to be a helpful and positive.
Full information about the College’s Quality Assurance Programs may be found on the College website. Members are encouraged to contact the QA team (qualityassurance@cpo.on.ca) with any questions, comments or concerns.