The CPTA's College Conversations

Speakers:   Leanne Loranger and Sean FitzGerald In this episode, Sean and Leanne talk about the provision of professional services process and rules that apply to private businesses seeking to offer physiotherapy services in Alberta. When physiotherapists work in private business settings that are owned by individuals who are not regulated health professionals there is a risk that the physiotherap...

Note: Due to changes to legislation this content is no longer up to date. Please refer to " Episode 86: Four Actions you Can Take Now to Improve Client Privacy in Your Practice Setting " for updated privacy information. Speakers:  Leanne Loranger and Cheryl Blahut In this episode Cheryl and Leanne talk about records release to other parties and the common themes that come up when complaints or con...

Speakers:  Leanne Loranger and Susan Paul In this episode Leanne speaks with Susan Paul of the College of Physical Therapists of British Columbia about trends seen among physiotherapists on social media. The episode starts with a discussion of the aspirational aspects of the Code of Ethical Conduct and who physiotherapists are called to be in all our professional interactions, including those that...

Speakers: Leanne Loranger, Jody Prohar, and Joyce Vogelgesang In this episode Leanne, Jody and Joyce talk about Physiotherapy Alberta's continuing competence program, providing an overview of the Do. Learn. Grow. program and an update about changes coming to continuing competence for physiotherapists in Alberta in 2022. We start with a discussion of legislation and the principles that underly the...

Speakers: Leanne Loranger and Sean FitzGerald In this episode Leanne is joined by Sean FitzGerald, Physiotherapy Alberta's Practice Advisor, to discuss conflicts of interest and some real-life scenarios that physiotherapists encounter in practice on a regular basis. Leanne and Sean discuss common questions about conflicts of interest including: what is a conflict of interest; and why do physiother...

Speakers: Jody Prohar, Leanne Loranger It's safe to say that 2022 will be a year of change for Physiotherapy Alberta. In this episode, Jody and Leanne discuss the Strategic Plan that was recently approved by Council and what that plan means in terms of the work Physiotherapy Alberta will focus on in the coming year. With the upcoming change in mandate, it was time to reflect on Physiotherapy Alber...

Speakers: Jody Prohar, Leanne Loranger Change is coming to Physiotherapy Alberta. In December 2020 the Health Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2) received Royal Assent. Among other things, this piece of legislation requires that regulatory colleges cease to function as professional associations and divest themselves of any association functions. In this episode, Jody and Leanne discuss the work that ha...

Speakers: Jody Prohar, Leanne Loranger In this episode we talk about how Physiotherapy Alberta approaches the questions regarding the scope of physiotherapypractice that we commonly receive from regulated physiotherapists, employers, and insurers. The "Is It Physiotherapy?" tool provides Physiotherapy Alberta with a consistent way to approach these questions. The five steps outlined in the tool ta...

Speakers: Jody Prohar, Leanne Loranger In this episode, Jody and Leanne discuss the profound effect that the spread of misinformation has had on the public's trust of institutions and regulated health professionals alike. We talk about some of the statements issued by professional organizations and regulators during the pandemic about the expectations health professionals need to meet and the impo...

Speakers: Joyce Vogelgesang, Cheryl Blahut, Leanne Loranger With the September 30th deadline for practice permit renewal fast approaching, we are using this episode to answer the question – 'What happens if I fail to renew my permit and practice when I'm not authorized?' The Health Professions Act establishes the penalties that apply if someone claims or implies that they are a physiotherapist wit...

Speakers: Joyce Vogelgesang, Jody Prohar, Leanne Loranger August means that practice permit renewal season is upon us. Joyce Vogelgesang joins Jody and Leanne in this episode to discuss all things registration and renewal and our tips for making the renewal process run smoothly, including: Maintaining your member profile. Reporting criminal charges, convictions, and findings of unprofessional cond...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger It's the second anniversary of College Conversations! This episode takes us back to the discussions of sexual abuse and sexual misconduct of patients by regulated health professionals, which were the spark that let to the creation of the podcast.   We begin the episode by reviewing key definitions related to changes to the Health Professions Act which were...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger In this episode, Jody and Leanne discuss the core activities of regulatory organizations, the costs of regulation and Council's fiduciary duty. Council has a duty to act in the interest of meeting Physiotherapy Alberta's mandate and to use the funds collected responsibly to fulfill core regulatory activities and our strategic plan. As a large, public organ...

In this episode, Jody and Leanne discuss Physiotherapy Alberta's recent Statement on discrimination, oppression and inequity, and our future plans as an organization.   We review how Physiotherapy Alberta initially began this work in response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and was at the point of starting to address those Calls to Action that apply to the work of...

In this episode, Jody and Leanne are joined by Joyce Vogelgesang, Deputy Registrar and long-time staff member of Physiotherapy Alberta, to discuss the history of how we came to be both College and Association, some common misconceptions about our history and role, and our primary mandate to serve the public interest. We go on to discuss recent legislative changes that mandate that health professio...

In this episode, Jody and Leanne discuss what professionalism means and the expectations that arise as part of being a member of a self-regulating profession.   Professionalism is a topic of conversation that arises frequently within the physiotherapy profession. Organizations such as entry to practice education programs, accreditation organizations, and regulators all agree that professionalism m...

Changes are coming to how Physiotherapy Alberta regulates the performance of pelvic health internal examinations by physiotherapists in Alberta. Although pelvic health internal examinations have always been a restricted activity, Physiotherapy Alberta is now transitioning to an authorization process for this activity that is similar to those used for authorizing the performance of spinal manipulat...

From time to time, conflicts and challenging situations may arise between physiotherapists and their patients, which may lead the physiotherapist to consider declining to continue to provide services to the patient. These situations exist on a continuum from the slightly challenging to the potentially dangerous. Although there are circumstances where a physiotherapist may decide to discontinue tre...

Advertising is a challenging topic within physiotherapy regulation, due in part to the tension between the need to promote the services offered and the need to conduct ourselves professionally. In this episode Jody and Leanne talk about common advertising problems including the use of the title 'doctor,' comparative and superlative statements, and misleading advertising.     Along the way we talk...

Physiotherapy Alberta has always fielded questions regarding Physiotherapist Interns and the Provisional Register, with questions relating to everything from the requirements for becoming a Physiotherapist Intern to the ins and outs of supervision and the performance of restricted activities. In the latter half of 2020 the number of questions received increased, presumably due to the delays to the...

Provision of services rules are in place to guide the processes by which Physiotherapy Alberta approves practice settings where physiotherapy services are provided. In this episode Jody and Leanne talk about the evolution of regulation of physiotherapy practice settings in Alberta and the provision of services rules currently in place. We discuss when these rules apply and the application requirem...

September. The start of fall is a time of fresh starts for many. Some would even argue that with return to school and resumption of fall activities it's the real start to each year. It's also the month when regulated members of Physiotherapy Alberta submit their annual renewal documents. In this episode Jody and Leanne walk listeners through the renewal requirements, address some common questions,...

Bitter divorces are not inevitable when physiotherapists decide to change employers. However, from time to time that is how things can play out. Physiotherapy Alberta typically only hears about the situations that are really problematic with both the clinician and the employer calling Physiotherapy Alberta to cast the other party as the 'bad guy' - not the transitions that go smoothly.     In this...

In this episode, Jody and Leanne discuss one of the Standards of Practice that typically gets little attention, the Legislative Responsibilities Standard. The episode starts with a brief review of some relevant legislation encompassed in the Standard, including: The Radiation Protection Act ; and The Protection for Persons in Care Act .   The second half of the episode provides a more detailed dis...

Hosts: Jody Prohar, Registrar, Physiotherapy Alberta; Leanne Loranger, Manager Policy + Practice, Physiotherapy Alberta In this episode, we talk about infection prevention and control and some of the lasting effects that COVID-19 may have on physiotherapy practice. Fundamentally, the pandemic has changed clinical practice. Some of the changes seen will remain, even as the first wave of the pandemi...