Since March, COVID-19 has preoccupied our lives and physiotherapists have dealt with challenges and dramatic changes. This crisis has touched both professional practice and personal lives, leaving physiotherapists wondering how to best to manage their future professional lives.
The College of Physiotherapists of Alberta has received some questions on how to best manage the Self-Selected Activity requirements. Some regulated members have indicated their workload is reduced and want to complete the write up of their Practice Improvement Record now.
The list of Self-Selected Activities that physiotherapists can choose to report on is quite broad. The program requires that you report on an activity completed that is relevant to your practice in which participation resulted in meaningful and significant changes in their personal competence and has impacted patients, or some other aspect of professional practice. Activity participation spans the registration year of October 1 to September 30.
In situations where a physiotherapist is learning but has not had a chance to apply their learning to professional practice because they are not working, the following guiding questions were developed to support the reflection and write up.
“If you can't discuss how patient care changed, discuss how this activity might change future patient care.”
“If you haven't fully implemented the activity, how do you foresee the physiotherapy or health-care system benefitting in the future?”
Here are some suggestions for managing your Self-Selected Activity.
- Report on the pre- COVID-19 activity that you intended to discuss, including the outcomes and impacts you observed before the Chief Medical Officer of Health ordered closure of in-person non-essential health care.
- Choose and report on a different activity that was completed and implemented into practice.
- Report on learning, growth and practice impacts for an activity completed as a result of changing your professional practice to respond to COVID-19 (i.e., telerehabilitation, infection prevention and control practices).
- Report on activities undertaken that have fostered personal learning. If you haven’t had a chance to apply what you have learned to your patients or practice environment, reflect and discuss how it might apply to your future practice when you complete your Practice Improvement Record.
If you have any concerns or questions about meeting the Self-Selected Activity requirements, reach out to Competence Department, we want to work with you to find the best solution that will enable you to meet the requirements without causing you undue stress. Contact the Continuing Competence Program at competence@cpta.ab.ca, and 1.800.291.2782, 780.702.5349.
