The College of Physiotherapists of Alberta’s exists to safeguard the public interest through the regulation of physiotherapists. As part of this mandate, the College works alongside government and with physiotherapists to ensure that the right systems and processes are in place so that you receive safe and effective care from competent and ethical physiotherapists. This is the final article in a series about the many roles the College plays in the regulation of physiotherapists in Alberta. You can access the previous three articles here:
- Part I: What is the Role of the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta?
- Part II: The Role of the College - Standards of Practice and Code of Ethical Conduct
- Part III: The Role of the College - Complaints & Concerns
Physiotherapists are committed to lifelong learning and a “do better” mindset. The College shares this goal. In this article, we will focus on the Continuing Competence program which the College is required to administer under the Health Professions Act.
The goal of the Continuing Competence program is to support physiotherapists’ efforts to maintain their competence and improve their delivery of physiotherapy services throughout their careers. For people who receive care from a physiotherapist it is important that physiotherapists are:
- Working to maintain their skills.
- Staying up to date on research and best practices.
- Using evidence-informed practice to assess and treat your injury or condition.
- Providing quality, safe, and effective care.
Each year, physiotherapists on the General Register take part in two Continuing Competence activities. Both activities are designed to support physiotherapists to learn and grow professionally so that they provide Albertans with quality, safe, and effective care.
The Self-Selected Activity
Physiotherapists work in a wide variety of practice settings, so the self-selected activity allows a physiotherapist to choose an activity that is focused and meaningful to their individual practice. A physiotherapist can choose from a wide variety of options. Physiotherapists can learn from others by taking courses, reading research, or attending conferences or webinars. They can conduct self-assessments or perform chart or safety audits to assess their practice and identify ways to improve. Or they can work with others by supervising students, mentoring other physiotherapists, or getting involved in communities of practice.
All these activities can qualify as the physiotherapist’s self-selected activity, as long as the activity results in significant, meaningful and sustained positive change to the physiotherapist’s personal competence and their physiotherapy practice.
The College-Selected Activity
The College of Physiotherapists of Alberta is responsible for supporting physiotherapists to deliver safe, competent, ethical care by raising the profession’s collective awareness of issues, professional practice standards, ethical conduct, and legislation governing physiotherapist's practice.
Each year the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta selects an activity that physiotherapists are required to complete. Mandatory participation ensures a profession-wide collective and common understanding of a topic. Topics are based on Standards of Practice, rules governing physiotherapy practice, or public-interest issues. The topic varies from year to year. The activity may be completed in the form of an online educational module, a self-assessment, a knowledge test, or other activity appropriate for the learning objective.
Like all regulatory colleges, the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta has a responsibility to audit the continuing competence submissions received from physiotherapists to ensure they are fulfilling their requirements. Each year the College reviews a percentage of the continuing competence submissions to ensure the physiotherapist audited has fulfilled the program’s requirements.
Physiotherapists are committed to lifelong learning, to improving and staying up to date on things such as professional practice standards, recent advances, changes, and trends in patient treatment and care. The College is here to protect the public interest. We are committed to having a meaningful continuing competence program in place for physiotherapists. This shared effort helps to ensure that clients receive quality, safe, and effective physiotherapy services that address their health-care needs.
Sean FitzGerald, PT
