A Practice Assessment
A practice assessment is how the College assures the competency of physiotherapists in Ontario and makes certain safe, quality care is delivered to patients. The peer interview involves a visit to
your practice setting to collect information to ensure you are meeting the professional practice standards. The information
is turned into a report that is submitted to the Registration Committee
for review.
Practice assessments are a requirement for all Colleges of self-regulating professions under the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA). If the assessment identifies areas of necessary learning and growth, a practice enhancement is required. Practice enhancements provide resource and support opportunities to ensure a physiotherapist meets set expectations of the profession.
The practice assessment selection process
Each year, five per cent of registered physical therapists are randomly selected for a practice assessment.
Physiotherapists who have been in independent
practice for at least three years are eligible for random selection.
Once a practice assessment has been completed, individuals are not
eligible to be selected again for five years.
Who will assess my practice?
Information about your practice will be collected by a peer assessor, a
practising physiotherapist who has completed an assessment themselves in
the past and understands your particular practice setting, when
possible.
The College provides rigorous training for all peer assessors. They are
trained to collect and document objective data in a report for the
Quality Management Committee to assess the practice of the
physiotherapist against the standards of the profession.
"I decided to become a peer assessor after I participated in the
process of assessment myself…I realized this was a good way to meet my
peers, but also to keep myself up to date with the rules and
expectations of the College and our profession."
I have been selected for a practice assessment — what now?
If you are chosen for a Practice Assessment, you will receive an email
and a letter from the College letting you know that a peer practice assessor will be contacting you shortly to arrange a convenient date and time for the practice
assessment.
Assessments take about 3 to 4 hours to complete and are divided into two
parts. It will include a review of your record keeping and a review of
your professional portfolio. Your practice assessment will take place in your place of work.
It also includes an interview where the assessor asks questions designed
to help the physiotherapist to recall the patient experience, explain
the thought process used, demonstrate any clinical reasoning and
reflection that occurred.
You can review the questions that will be asked of you by downloading the
Practice Assessment Questions document.
Where gaps in knowledge or the application of a standard are identified,
the physiotherapist/physical therapist is provided an opportunity to
reflect on these areas and provide information (called a “submission”)
to the Committee on any changes or clarification about their practice.
An assessor’s role is to collect information or data about the practice
of the physiotherapist/ physical therapist being assessed, but does not a
make a final decision on the success of the assessment.
The assessor completes a report for the consideration of the Quality
Management Committee for evaluation against the established Standards
for Professional Practice and the essential competencies of the
profession.
The Committee considers the data collected by the assessor from the
patient records, portfolio and through the interview process with the
physiotherapist and any submission made by the physiotherapists that may
have been provided, before a final decision is made on the outcome of
the assessment. You will receive the results of your assessment by mail within four to six weeks.
“The assessor was friendly and professional and seemed to really
understand my practice area. It was potentially a very stressful
situation…overall a positive experience."
Steps to Prepare for a Practice Assessment
- Review the Standards for Professional Practice and related documents in the STANDARDS section of the website.
- Conduct a review of your practice against the relevant standards.
- Ensure your Professional Portfolio reflects your growth and learning as a physiotherapist over the previous 5 years.
- Complete a copy of the most recent Professional Issues Self Assessment (PISA).
- Practice assessments are held at your primary place of
employment. A private space must be made available for the confidential
peer assessment.
- A peer will visit you at your workplace to review six patient
charts and ask you a set of practice related questions. These questions
are outlined in the Practice Assessment Forms. The assessor records the relevant information you provide and shares it with the College in the form of a report.
- After the Practice Assessment is complete and the peer assessor
has submitted the report to the College, a Committee made up of six
physiotherapist and public members reviews the document and make a
decision around a copy of your report. The report will have been
stripped of all identifying information before the review.
Practice Assessment Documents to Help You Prepare
Please carefully read ALL of the information included in the documents below.
For PTs who are rostered, please also review the additional questions and educational verification forms
Additional Reading
For more information, go to the College website and look under Quality Management, Standards and Resources.
Questions?
For adminstrative questions, please contact:
Aja Staples, Associate
astaples@collegept.org
1-800-583-5885 ext. 238
416-591-3828 ext. 238
For other questions, contact:
Fiona Campbell, Director
fcampbell@collegept.org
1-800-583-5885 ext. 224
416-591-3828 ext. 224