The College of Physiotherapists of Alberta’s mandate is to safeguard the public through the regulation of physiotherapists. The College’s main goal is to ensure that the right systems and processes are in place so that you receive safe and effective physiotherapy. The core functions of the College are to:
- Register all physiotherapists working in Alberta.
- Develop and require physiotherapists to complete continuing competence programs to maintain their registration.
- Develop Standards of Practice and a Code of Ethical Conduct for physiotherapists to follow while registered.
- Provide a means by which patients and the public can file a complaint about a physiotherapist’s practice.
In this article, we will focus on the Code of Ethical Conduct and the Standards of Practice that direct the practice of physiotherapy in Alberta. The Code of Ethical Conduct defines the broad principles that govern physiotherapists whereas the Standards of Practice provide a more defined set of performance expectations for physiotherapists. Both the code and the standards follow the same ethical principles and core professional values by providing direction as to how to apply them in daily physiotherapy practice.
Physiotherapists are autonomous regulated health care professionals who are expected to act in the best interests of clients and commit to providing quality, safe, effective client-centered services.
Purpose of The Code of Ethical Conduct
The Code of Ethical Conduct applies to all registered physiotherapists practicing in Alberta in all parts of their practice and through all stages of their careers. The Code of Ethical Conduct is used with the Standards of Practice and applicable legislation and policies to regulate the practice of physiotherapy.
The code sets the ethical principles that govern the conduct of physiotherapists and is the moral anchor that assures you that physiotherapists strive for the highest standards of conduct. It provides guidance to physiotherapists to act with integrity, accountability, and good judgment in the best interests of the client, the public, the individual, and the profession. There are 4 ethical principles which form the foundation of ethical conduct and provide guidance for ethical decision-making.
- Respect for Autonomy states that people should be allowed to make decisions that apply to their lives and to have control over their lives as much as possible. Autonomy requires a physiotherapist to respect a client’s freedom to decide for themselves and includes obtaining informed consent.
- Beneficence guides the practitioner to do what is good with respect to the welfare of the client. In physiotherapy practice, the physiotherapist should provide benefit to the client’s health.
- Least Harm deals with situations in which none of the choices available are judged to be the best. In this case, a practitioner should choose to do the least harm possible and to do harm to the fewest people. For physiotherapists, this may mean recommending an intervention that is the best of two alternatives even though both alternatives may have negative side effects.
- Justice requires that the actions chosen are objective and equitable to those involved. An ethical decision that relates to justice has a consistent logical basis that supports the decision. For physiotherapists, justice relates to treating people fairly and allocating resources fairly between clients.
In addition to ethical principles, there are many professional values that help to support ethical conduct in the profession. These include accountability, advocacy, altruism, client-centeredness, compassion, equity, excellence, integrity, respect, and social responsibility.1
Purpose of the Standards of Practice
The Standards of Practice serve several purposes, including:
- Defining the minimum performance expectations that physiotherapists must meet. Standards inform physiotherapists, clients, and the public, of the expectations, obligations, and requirements of being a regulated health professional.
- Providing a reference to the public related to expectations for quality care.
The Standards of Practice are accessible on the College’s website so that members of the public can understand what they can expect from physiotherapy services.
The Standards of Practice are one set of documents that help physiotherapists to understand their responsibilities.
The College of Physiotherapy of Alberta’s Role
Develop the Standards and Code
The College is responsible to develop and adopt standards as a basis for monitoring registrants’ performance.
Development of both the Standards of Practice and the Code of Ethical Conduct is done in consultation with many other people and groups. Proposed updates or amendments to either document are reviewed by the provincial government and the feedback from the Minister of Health is considered before the Standards of Practice are finalized.
Development of Resources
The College also develops resources to help physiotherapists understand the responsibilities established in the Standards of Practice and Code of Ethical Conduct and how to abide by them. The College creates a range of resources including newsletter articles, webinars, informational graphics, videos, podcasts, and guidance documents.
Conduct
Physiotherapists registered in Alberta are expected to abide by all the Standards of Practice and the expectations found in the Code of Ethical Conduct. Failure to do so can result in a complaint against the physiotherapist and the potential for disciplinary action. The next article in this series will highlight the complaints process.
References:
`1. The Canadian Physiotherapy Association: Core Professional Values (2024) https://physiotherapy.ca/resource/core-professional-values/ Accessed on June 17th, 2024.
