Professional Misconduct
Under the RHPA, members of the public may file a complaint with the College. The Inquiries, Complaints & Reports Committee conducts an investigation of the complaint and if the Committee determines that the MRT may have committed an act of professional misconduct, the complaint is referred to the Discipline Committee for a hearing.
Ontario Regulation 855/93 made under the MRT Act defines acts which are considered professional misconduct for MRTs. This regulation may be found in the Acts, Regulations and Bylaws section or may be obtained from the College.
The College has developed procedures for handling accusations of professional misconduct which attempt to ensure that all information is gathered and reviewed but, to the extent possible, remains confidential, that the interests of the public are protected... and, of course, that both the patient and the MRT are treated fairly and with respect.
What is Considered Professional Misconduct?
In general, professional misconduct occurs through omission, the act of failing to do something required by the practice of our profession, or violation, doing something which violates the legislation or standards of practice governing our profession. The key documents for determining omission and violation are the Standards of Practice developed by the College and the legislation which governs the profession, including the professional misconduct regulation.
Professional misconduct covers many possible areas of complaint including:
- misconduct
- fraud
- misrepresentation
- sexual and other forms of abuse
Within these four general areas, there are a variety of specific actions which will be treated as professional misconduct and which following an investigation, could result in a discipline proceeding.
Misconduct
The greatest fear of any professional is that he or she may be found guilty of misconduct by peers. Fortunately, accusations that MRTs are guilty of misconduct are uncommon.
Most MRTs will understand misconduct to be "carelessly, negligently or unskillfully using ionizing radiation". But it also includes:
- failure to maintain the standards of practice of the profession
- failure to get consent for treatment from the patient
- practising the profession while the MRT's ability to do so is impaired by any substance
- contravening a federal or provincial law, a municipal bylaw or a bylaw or rule of a hospital if the contravention is relevant to the member's suitability to practise
- failure to co-operate with the College's Quality Assurance Committee or to carry out a requirement or order of the Quality Assurance Committee
Fraud
Specific sections of the College's professional misconduct regulation deal with what "fraud" means in the context of an MRT's practice.
Fraudulent actions can be summarized as:
- falsifying a record related to an MRT's practice
- trying to influence a patient to change his or her will or any other testamentary document
- signing or issuing a document that an MRT knows contains false or misleading statements
Misrepresentation
One of the important gains that MRTs have made as a result of the RHPA is the clear identification of our professional standing. No one may use the title medical radiation technologist or any abbreviation without being a member of the College. And no one may use the titles "medical radiation technologist - radiography", "medical radiation technologist - radiation therapy" ("medical radiation technologist-radiation therapist"), "medical radiation technologist - nuclear medicine", "medical radiation technologist - magnetic resonance", or their abbreviations - M.R.T.(R.), M.R.T.(T.), M.R.T.(N.), or M.R.T.(M.R.) without holding the corresponding specialty certificate.
The most common class of College certificate is the "specialty" certificate. A "specialty" certificate authorizes you to practise one or more of radiography, radiation therapy, magnetic resonance, and/or nuclear medicine.
It is important to recognize, in addition, that unless you have a certificate for a specific specialty you can not claim to be a practitioner in that professional discipline. For example, if you hold a certificate in radiography you are not allowed to practise radiation therapy or use the applicable designation or title.
Misrepresentation also includes:
- holding out that an MRT has special qualifications not possessed by the MRT
- inappropriately using a term, title or designation in respect to an MRT's practice
- using a name, other than the member's name set out in the College register, in the course of providing services within the scope of practice of the profession
Sexual Abuse
The College has adopted a policy of zero tolerance with respect to sexual abuse of patients. See the section on Sexual Abuse for further information on the College's Sexual Abuse Prevention Program.
Sexual abuse includes:
- sexual intercourse or other forms of physical sexual relations
- touching of a sexual nature
- behaviours or remarks of a sexual nature
The RHPA makes it mandatory to file a written report with the Registrar of the College with respect to the member who is the subject of the report if you have reasonable grounds, obtained in the course of your practice, to believe that a patient has been sexually abused by any member of our College or any other health regulatory College.
Complaints and discipline procedure
If the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee determines that an accusation of professional misconduct should be referred to the Discipline Committee, a hearing is held before the Discipline Committee. The Discipline Committee is made up of members of the College and members of the public. It sits as an independent tribunal to reach a fair decision based on evidence presented by legal counsel for the College and legal counsel for the member.
The CMRTO's complaints procedure aims to ensure that a thorough and fair investigation of a complaint is conducted.
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