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Online Services Survey Results
Sharon Saberton Retires
Federation of Health Regulatory Colleges–"An Inter-professional Guide on the Use of Orders, Directives and Delegation for Regulated Health Professionals in Ontario"
Revisions to the College’s Standards of Practice
Auditor General’s Comments on Use of Diagnostic Equipment
Summary of Discipline Hearing
Suspended Members
Online Services Survey Results
As reported last year, nearly 2,000 members (32%) responded to the College’s mail
survey aimed at discovering their views on current and future online services. The
purpose of the survey was to determine current usage levels of the College’s web site,
identify online service enhancements to be considered and explore additional annual
renewal payment options.
The survey results will be valuable as the College considers how to expand and improve
its online services, in particular through the web site. The main findings of the survey are
outlined below:
College members are comfortable with digital technology:
- 94% have access to the Internet either at home or work, with nearly 87% with a high speed connection
- 68% use the Internet for online banking
- 54% have purchased goods or services online
Members who use the College web site (43%) find it useful and use it for
information on professional practice (53%), the quality assurance program (49%),
and professional registration (32%) and also frequent the resource room (42%)
Members would like to see enhanced online services that will allow for:
- annual renewal of registration, including fee payment
- checking registration status
- updating contact information
Members are looking for additional options other than cheque or money order to pay annual fees
- There is significant interest with 53% indicating they would consider using Visa or Mastercard to pay annual fees
The College Council is delighted with the response to the survey and the direction it
provides to decisions it will be making over the next few years. The directions identified
by members will be taken into account in Council’s strategic planning process.
Sharon Saberton Retires
This is the final edition of Insights under
the management of Sharon Saberton
as College Registrar. Effective March 2,
2007, Linda Gough will assume full
responsibility as Registrar of the College
and, of course, for this publication.
Sharon led the College through the
transition from the Board of Radiological
Technicians to becoming the College
of Medical Radiation Technologists of
Ontario under the Regulated Health
Professions Act (RHPA)... and to the
highly respected self-regulatory body
that it is today.
It would be impossible to list in Insights
all her accomplishments during that
time. Sharon has been instrumental in
every major development from the first
standards of practice and our well regarded
quality assurance program to the current
multi-source feedback system; from the
creation of Insights and the series of
publications called What You Must Know
About to the development of the College’s
web site; from the first integration of the
three specialties to the subsequent addition
of the specialty of MR into the College
infrastructure. She has represented
self-regulation of the profession with the
Ontario Association of Medical Radiation
Technologists and Canadian Association of
Medical Radiation Technologists, with the
Ontario government, with the Federation
of Health Regulatory Colleges of Ontario,
through the various reviews of the RHPA
undertaken by the Health Professions
Regulatory Advisory Council, with the
media, other health care sector bodies and
the public. And she has supported dozens
of Council members as they learned their
roles and fulfilled their responsibilities as
Council members.
Suffice it to say that thanks to Sharon’s
leadership for the past 14 years—and the
support and contribution of the College’s staff, including Registrar-designate
Linda Gough—our College has grown
to become one of the leading health
profession bodies in the country, and
our members are now recognized
within the health care team. "Sharon’s
contribution to the profession of
medical radiation technology has been
tremendous," says Linda Gough. "She has
been our torch-bearer and change master.
Throughout her career, Sharon’s unique
mix of enthusiasm, creativity, helpfulness
and encouragement has been valued by
many. We all wish Sharon a long, happy
and prosperous retirement."
Federation of Health Regulatory Colleges—“An Inter-professional Guide on the Use of Orders, Directives and Delegation for Regulated Health Professionals in Ontario”
After two years of work, consultation
and detailed study, the Federation of
Health Regulatory Colleges of Ontario
(FHRCO), which includes the CMRTO,
has released its Inter-professional Guide on
the Use of Orders, Directives and Delegation
for Regulated Health Professionals in
Ontario. The guide is available through
a link on the College’s web site
www.cmrto.org.
The guide has been developed in order to
address questions and confusion regarding
point-of-care use of orders—direct orders
and medical directives—and delegation
across all health professions and practice
settings.
The final guide is the result of the work of
a multi-college team under the leadership
of Heather Campbell, College of Nurses of
Ontario, and our own Sharon Saberton.
Revisions to the College’s Standards of Practice
In 1994, the College released its Standards
of Practice for MRTs. The Standards of
Practice underwent a thorough review in
2001 resulting in the development of the Essential Competencies, Comprehensive
Guidelines and Addendum to the
Comprehensive Guidelines documents released in 2004.
The College’s Council has now authorized
a project to revise the Comprehensive
Guidelines to review how the impact of a
number of significant developments since
2004 should be reflected in the guidelines.
These differences include:
Major changes over the past three-five
years in the technology and practice of
medical radiation technology
- Changes in the expectations on
MRTs with respect to delegation
in the evolving inter-disciplinary
patient-centred health care model
- New policies related to the scope of
practice of MRTs which need to be
researched and integrated into the
guidelines, including bone densitometry
and the application of CT as an
entry-to-practice requirement for all
MRTs in all specialties
As with the development of the original
guidelines, the College will be soliciting
MRTs to participate in focus groups to
review existing practices and to consider
how to address these new challenges in
revised guidelines.
Please contact Linda Gough, at
(416) 975-4353 or 1-800-563-5847, or
lgough@cmrto.org, if you are interested in
being part of the focus groups in 2007.
Auditor General’s Comments on Use of Diagnostic Equipment
In his annual report released in December
2006, Ontario’s Auditor General raised
concerns that some patients were being
exposed to unsafe levels of radiation
during CT scans, especially paediatric
patients. His report received some negative
media attention.
However, a few months earlier, Ontario’s
Ministry of Health and Long-Term
Care had already established a Diagnostic
Imaging Safety Committee made up
of clinical experts to develop specific
recommendations regarding how CT
scanners can be used safely, consistent with
the As Low As Reasonably Achievable
(ALARA) principle. The committee’s
report is expected in February, 2007.
MRTs are committed to the ALARA
principle. Essential Competency Nos. 3
and 4 of the College’s standards of practice
embody this principle. Any suggestion that
patient safety is being put at risk through
the radiation dosage applied in diagnostic
imaging is, of course, cause for concern
among MRTs. The College looks forward
to reviewing the committee’s report and
providing further information to members
based on this review.
Summary of Discipline Hearing
Devi Benhasenn-Nelson
On July 6, 2006 a discipline hearing was
held to consider allegations of professional
misconduct brought against Devi
Benhasenn-Nelson. It was alleged that on
May 24, 2005 Ms. Benhasenn-Nelson:
- sat up a trauma patient who had a
cervical spine collar on, in order to
perform a radiographic examination
of the patient’s cervical spine;
- failed to provide the patient with
appropriate radiation protection; and
- did not properly document her actions
or retain required documentation in the
patient file.
Ms. Benhasenn-Nelson admitted the
allegations of professional misconduct.
The panel of the Discipline Committee
found her guilty of professional
misconduct. The panel ordered that
Ms. Benhasenn-Nelson be reprimanded
and that the reprimand be noted in
the register of the College, that Ms.
Benhasenn-Nelson’s certificate of
registration be suspended for a two week
period from November 29, 2006 to
December 13, 2006, inclusive, and that
Ms. Benhasenn-Nelson be required to
successfully complete a remedial learning
program in trauma radiography at The
Michener Institute for Applied Health
Sciences at her own expense prior to July
15, 2007. The program incorporates
radiation protection, documentation,
trauma patient x-ray management, and
includes a clinical component.
In reaching its decision regarding the
appropriate penalty, the panel considered
the serious nature of the offence and
the potential harm to the patient, while
recognizing a number of mitigating factors
including Ms. Benhasenn-Nelson’s
acknowledgement of responsibility for
the conduct and the fact that she suffered
significant financial loss as she did not
work in her profession for a period of three
months as a result of the incident. The
panel was persuaded that Ms. Benhasenn-
Nelson had learned from her experience
and concluded that an educative approach
through a reprimand and completion of a
remedial learning program was appropriate
in this case.
Suspended Members
The following are the people whose
certificates of registration were suspended
between November 1, 2006 and January
12, 2007 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.
| 07263 |
Hickey, Andrew G. |
| 01907 |
Varga, Janis |
| 02300 |
Harford, Patricia A. |
| 11003 |
Sallows, Timothy M. |
| 11239 |
Lafleur, Jessica |
| 11682 |
Mills, Sandra L. |
| 11955 |
Kennedy, Samantha |
| 12178 |
Williamson, Tara E. |
| 12536 |
Young, J. Paul S. |
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