2013 Council Meeting Schedule - College of Massage Therapists of ...

TouchPoint
Spring/Summer 2013/Volume 20 Issue 1 Table of Contents From the Registrar 2
From the President 4
Get to Know Your College 6
Champions of the College - "Representing the Public Interest" 7
Important Information for Massage Therapists who provide Acupuncture within
the Scope of Practice of Massage Therapy 10
Inter-jurisdictional Practice Competencies and Performance Indicators
(IPC/PIs) 12
What You Need to Know about CEUs 15
New Amendments to the Advertising Regulation - Ontario Regulation 544/94
18
Accreditation Project 20
Renewals Are Going Paperless! 22
Insurance Fraud Bulletin 23
2012 Certification Examination Statistics 24
Council Highlights 26
Notice of Election Results of Members to Council 30
Council Members 32
2013 Council Meeting Schedule 32
College Committees 33
2013 Courses & Workshops 34
2012 Retired Members 35
2012 Revocations 36
2012 Suspensions 37 From the Registrar The College has been very busy over the last year working on the annual
work plan as approved by Council, which consists of a number of projects
related to the strategy and operations of the College. As I have discussed in recent messages to the profession, in relation to my
appointment as Registrar and CEO of the College of Massage Therapists of
Ontario, the College remains firmly committed to upholding the public
interest and strengthening its accountability to the principles set forth
in the RHPA. However, we are embarking on a plan to review College
processes to ensure that they are more transparent and user friendly for
registrants, to help them comply with increasingly complex requirements. Last year, the College became aware of a security breach in relation to its
certification examination, and had to suspend the MCQ for a period of time.
For over twenty years, the College has conducted its certification exams
without an incident of this nature. We listened to many complaints from
candidates who were upset at having the MCQ postponed for several months.
We also heard from long-standing registrants who were angry that a person
or persons would attempt to put the public at risk, by circumventing the
very process which is designed to assure the public that all those who pass
are competent to practice the Massage Therapy profession in a safe and
ethical manner. We know from surveys that Massage Therapists enjoy relatively high
credibility amongst the public, clients of Massage Therapists and other
healthcare practitioners. This is due primarily to the compassionate and
knowledgeable care which Massage Therapists provide every day to the public
of Ontario. This reputation risks being undermined by the exam security
breach. The College took immediate action when it became aware of concerns to
suspend the MCQ. The College also worked with its psychometric firm to
fully understand the situation, and provided regular updates to the
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care regarding the College's plans to move
forward. In response to feedback from the MOHLTC (Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care), the College took the additional step to hire a number of
temporary staff, to quickly process the registrations of all candidates who
had been prevented from becoming registered for several months during the
MCQ suspension. I would like to emphasize that in 2011, as part of its initiative to
improve internal operations, the College retained an independent forensic
audit firm, Navigant Inc., to review both the exam processes and the
College's psychometric firm. The results indicated that the College's exam
processes meet international standards for competency assessment, and
assured the College that its exam processes were sound. CMTO currently has an investigation underway regarding the exam security
breach, and we fully intend to update stakeholders when we are in a
position to do so, without compromising any investigative activities. Over the holiday period and into January, the College has been planning its
approach to the exams for the coming year. Regrettably some of the
features, which candidates have come to expect, will no longer be offered,
in order to assure continued security of the examinations. The MCQ will now be offered 4 times per year in Toronto. The Massage
Therapy programmes were notified of this change earlier in the year. For
comparison, all other regulators in Ontario offer certifications
examinations 2 - 4 times per year. The College also plans to continue with the additional security measures,
which were implemented at the November 17, 2012 MCQ. I would like to thank all those who lent their support to the College
through this trying time, and who understand that although the College has
multiple stakeholders with many needs, the primary stakeholder is the
public of Ontario. Corinne Flitton, RMT
Registrar & CEO
From the President As I begin my term as President, I'd like to express my sincere thanks to
Council for their confidence in electing me to my second term as President
of the College. On behalf of Council, I would like to congratulate Corinne Flitton, RMT, on
her new position as Registrar and CEO for the College. Corinne has a long
history with the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario, having begun
with the College in 1995 as Assistant Registrar. Corinne served as Deputy Registrar for fifteen years and, most recently,
provided leadership and stability as Interim Registrar during the recent
transitional period. Her vision and corporate memory, as well as experience
managing different committees and operations of the College will serve CMTO
well, as we look forward to achieving some long-standing goals in the
coming years. With the College still continuing its investigation into the MCQ
examination security breach last year, I would like to take the opportunity
to emphasize the seriousness with which Council approached its
responsibilities, in relation to suspending the MCQ examination. Council understood that some candidates would be facing a difficult
situation if the decision was made to halt the exam process. It is
acknowledged by Council that the examination is the gateway through which
Massage Therapy graduates move into the next phase of life. Having said
that, Council's mandate is to serve the people of Ontario, through the
responsibilities set out in the Regulated Health Professions Act,
particularly: Regulating the practice of a health profession;
Developing and maintaining standards of qualification for those who apply
for Certificates of Registration;
Developing and maintaining standards of professional practice, knowledge,
skill and professional ethics for its members (registrants). Council focused on meeting its responsibilities to the public, by ensuring
that all successful candidates met the standards of qualification set by
the College, honestly, and without dishonesty. After extensive discussion, Council made the only choice it could, which
was to suspend the MCQ portion of the certification examination. Council
also approved the hiring of temporary registration staff, and the
acquisition of short-term office space. This was implemented in order to
ensure that the College could streamline the initial registration process
for those who had experienced a delay in their exams. I would like to thank all those who lent their support to the College
through this demanding time, and to those educators who assumed positions
of leadership with their students and helped them work through their
disappointment and other challenges associated with having the exams
delayed. Although the College has multiple stakeholders with many needs, we need to
remember that the primary stakeholder is the public of Ontario, and that it
is the responsibility of the College to ensure that the exams are objective
and fair, and that all those who pass possess the competence to practice
Massage Therapy safely and ethically. Council has approved the format for the MCQ for 2013 and beyond. To
maintain exam security, the MCQ will only be offered 4 times per year, and
solely in Toronto. Later this year, Council will be assessing the financial
impact of the exam security breach, and the associated investigation and
operational changes. Based on this assessment Council will determine
whether the MCQ and OSCE fees need to be increased to cover costs as there
has not been a fee increase since 2005. Elsewhere in this edition of Touchpoint, you will find a notice relating to
the provision of acupuncture in Ontario. If you are a Massage Therapist who
provides acupuncture, please read this notice carefully. As of April 1,
2013, acupuncture is now regulated by the College of Traditional Chinese
Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario. Massage Therapists
may continue to provide acupuncture as Massage Therapists only if it is
provided within the scope of practice of the Massage Therapy profession,
and in accordance with the new Acupuncture Practice Competencies and
Performance Indicators, and Standards of Practice and policies approved by
CMTO. For those Massage Therapists who wish to provide the full scope of
acupuncture treatment, which includes services outside the Massage Therapy
scope of practice, registrants will need to join the College of Traditional
Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario. Information
regarding requirements for Registration can be obtained from the following
website: http://www.ctcmpao.on.ca I would like to close by indicating that the Massage Therapy Association of
Manitoba (MTAM) is still working on its application to regulate Massage
Therapy. As outlined on the Manitoba Health website, the Massage Therapy
Association of Manitoba (MTAM) submitted an application to the Minister of
Health for designation as a regulated health profession, under Section 156
of The Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA). In response, the Minister of Health has asked the Health Professions
Advisory Counci