Strategic Plan
Over the past six months, Council has been working towards setting the strategic direction for the organization as we transition to a single mandate regulatory body. On November 20, 2021, Council approved the Strategic Plan 2021-2026 defining our mission, vision, values and the areas of focus that will guide the organization over the next five years.
Council Election 2022
A call for nominations for Council was sent out by email on December 2, 2022. Nominations must be received by 11:59 pm on January 27, 2022 and further the 2022 Council election takes place by electronic vote between March 23 and April 13, 2022 using the online voting system called Big Pulse. Click here for more information on the Council Election.
Registration Requirement Review
Council approved a budget to initiate a review of registration requirements and licensure best practices to inform registration requirements in Alberta.
Awards
The 2021 award winners have been selected by the Awards Committee.
Pinnacle Award of Distinction
The Pinnacle Award of Distinction is a peer award which recognizes a physiotherapist annually who has made a significant contribution through excellence in practice and/or promotion of the profession in one or more of the following areas:
- Excellence in practice - clinical, education, administration or research.
- Exemplary leadership skills.
- Commitment to the profession through long-term and continuous professional and regulatory activities.
- Actively engaged in promotion and advocacy of the profession.
- Outstanding community service which reflects well on the profession.
The 2021 pinnacle award of distinction recipient is Dianna MacDonald. Dianna is praised for her enormous contribution to patient care, program development, student preceptorship as well as staff mentorship throughout her career. She is recognized for being a humble and stimulating teacher who is always positive, attentive, caring, fun and passionate about clinical education.
She is recognized for her wealth of knowledge and passion in women’s health and urotherapy where she has been teaching post graduate courses in pelvic health physiotherapy assessment and intervention for many years.
Award for Excellence in Innovation
The award for excellence in innovation is a peer award which recognizes a clinically based physiotherapist annually who is directly involved in advancing the profession by improving, changing and in general revolutionizing the delivery and quality of physiotherapy services, e.g., practice models, program development.
The 2021 award for excellence in innovation recipient is Melissa DeSmet. The recipient is praised for her ongoing work devoted to making home exercise guidance more accessible to the public and the profession. During the pandemic she heard of caregivers struggles to keep loved ones active and engaged at home and responded by thinking of ways to engage people of various cognitive, physical and visual abilities to come together and move safely. This recipient understood that caregivers and care recipients were struggling to make and keep appointments using videoconferencing technology. She realized that this was a barrier and was able to overcome it by capturing lessons on video and using social media platforms to share freely. She is currently developing innovative tools to further share her knowledge.
These award recipients are commended for their significant contribution through excellence in practice of physiotherapy.
