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Revising the Standards of Practice
Differing Roles of the College and OAMRT
Self Regulation Update (#4)
Policy Update Regarding the Operation of X-Ray Tubes in Conjunction with Nuclear Medicine Cameras
Election of Members to Council – Electoral Districts 3 and 4
Council and Committee Membership
Suspended Members
Revising the Standards of Practice
The College has launched a major project to revise the current Standards of Practice so that they become a more effective benchmark for determining clinical competence.
This is an indispensable project because it deals with the way in which our competency as health care professionals is determined and measured.
The need to re-think the College’s approach to its Standards of Practice arises from a number of factors:
- Changes in technology since the Standards of Practice were first developed that have pointed to the need to update these Standards.
- Changes in the practice of the three specialties since the Standards of Practice were first introduced.
- The self-regulation of sonographers and MR technologists in conjunction with the College which identified a need for joint standards that take into account the competencies required for all five specialties of our profession, including sonography and magnetic resonance.
In the last few months, Sharon Saberton, Registrar, and Roseanne Pegler, Director of Professional Relations, thoroughly reviewed the Standards and determined that reconciling standards, current professional competencies and our profession’s practice guidelines was a highly complex matter. There are also professional ethical issues that the Standards do not currently address.
The College Council, therefore, approved a two-three year project to draft and test revised standards of practice, basic competencies, and practice guidelines common to all five specialties (including sonography and MR technology), as well as competencies specific to each specialty. In addition, the project will propose a code of ethics that encompasses all five specialties.
College members will be kept fully informed as this project unfolds.
Differing Roles of the College and OAMRT
As most members know, the role of the College is to protect the people of Ontario through self-regulation of the practice of medical radiation technology. In order to meet this statutory mandate, the College establishes and maintains standards of qualification for people who wish to practise the profession in Ontario.
The Ontario Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (OAMRT) is the professional association which represents the interests of medical radiation technologists in the disciplines (specialties) of radiological technology (radiography), radiation therapy, nuclear medicine, and magnetic resonance in the province. The association plays an important role as an agent of professional change and advancement for the profession in Ontario.
CMRTO Registrar, Sharon Saberton, and Glynne Richard, Chair of the Board and President of the OAMRT have been discussing these different roles around the province in presentations made to four of the nine medical radiation technology educational programs, as well as to the OAMRTS’ conference in Richmond Hill in May and the national association’s conference in Sydney, Nova Scotia in June.
In particular, the joint presentation discussed how the cooperative working relationship between the two organizations serves to protect the public and advance the interests of the profession.
Self Regulation Update (#4)
All members of the College will have received (or will shortly receive) another publication called Self-Regulation Update #4 (July 2002). This is a very important publication. It explains how we have worked closely with sonographers and MR technologists to prepare the regulatory groundwork for the self-regulation of these medical imaging specialties in conjunction with the College.
The publication points out, however, that the initiative has not been without significant cost in financial terms, and that the integration of sonographers and MR technologists will add significantly to the ongoing operational costs of the College.
The question is raised, "Who should bear the cost of self-regulation of sonographers and MR technologists?" We believe that sonographers and MR technologists will have to bear the current and imminent predicted cost of integrating the two specialties into the College through the payment of fees. This is only logical because that is what self-regulation is about.
Our partners in this initiative – the Ontario Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers and the Ontario Association of Medical Radiation Technologists – also support this perspective and have jointly issued the Self-Regulation Update publication.
Policy Update Regarding the Operation of X-Ray Tubes in Conjunction with Nuclear Medicine Cameras
Advances in the field of nuclear medicine have prompted the College of Medical Radiation Technologists of Ontario (CMRTO) to update its policy regarding operation of gamma cameras using x-ray tubes.
Several gamma/PET cameras with x-ray tubes are being installed across North America. They are being used to perform diagnostic-quality CT in conjunction with nuclear medicine studies. The new technology will save time and provide more diagnostic information by integrating the CT data with the nuclear medicine data.
However, in light of this new technology, the CMRTO has reviewed its existing policy respecting the operation of x-ray tubes in conjunction with nuclear medicine cameras.
The new policy is as follows:
"A medical radiation technologist registered in any of the specialties of the College is authorized to operate nuclear medicine gamma cameras that use an x-ray tube and detector, provided that the medical radiation technologist has sufficient knowledge, skill and judgment to safely operate the nuclear medicine gamma camera and x-ray tube, and to comply with HARP requirements, all other relevant legislation, the CMRTO Standards of Practice, and the CMRTO Guidelines for Acting in Accordance with the Regulated Health Professions Act Scope of Practice/Controlled Acts Model."
Election of Members to Council –
Electoral Districts 3 and 4
Elections were held on May 3, 2002, in Electoral District # 3 (Central District, Radiography) and Electoral District # 4 (Western District, Radiography).
Jackie Dix M.R.T.(R.) was re-elected by acclamation in District 4 and her term of office commenced July 16, 2002 at the first meeting of the Council following the May 3, 2002 election, and terminates at the first meeting of Council after the May 2004 election.
Ellen Charkot M.R.T.(R.) was elected in District 3. Ellen Charkot’s term of office commenced on July 16, 2002 at the first meeting of the Council following the May 3, 2002 election, and terminates at the first meeting of Council after the May 2005 election.
Council and Committee Membership
The list of Council and Committee members is available on the College’s web site (www.CMRTO.org). The College Council, presided over by President Sheila Robson, includes seven elected and six public-appointed members of Council. In addition to an Executive Committee, there are six statutory committees, which meet on a regular basis (Complaints Committee, Discipline Committee, Fitness to Practise Committee, Patient Relations Committee, Quality Assurance Committee, and Registration Committee). The e-mail addresses for elected Council members are available on the College’s web site.
Suspended Members
The following are the people whose certificates of registration have been suspended effective June 2002, for failure to pay their fees in accordance with section 24 of the Health Professions Procedural Code. A person whose certificate of registration has been suspended is not a member of the College unless and until the suspension is removed:
| 10130 |
Vesna Baric |
| 11323 |
Michelle Anne Cowper |
| 07974 |
Ronna Ladouceur |
| 08252 |
Michael Munjas |
| 11205 |
Bridget Louise Suter |
| 10196 |
Harmandip Thind |
| 11145 |
Jeanne L. Van Larkin |
| 08510 |
Robert E. Young |
| 1757 |
Heather A Little |
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