Career Options

Report on health-care occupations

A new report recommends the regulation of at least six more health-care occupations in Ontario, reflecting the way people in the province care for themselves or are cared for as the population changes in age and outlook.

DAVID CHILTON


[ 2006-06-14 ]

Send to a friend
Print
In what work environment would you thrive? To find out, take this test by eCareerFit, the career assessment experts.

Among the occupations are pharmacy technician, homeopath, naturopath, kinesiologist, psychotherapist, hearing instrument practitioner and personal support worker (PSW).

The report says "people in Ontario want to be certain that they are receiving the best and safest care from the most qualified, up-to-date professionals. And they confirm that the regulators need the appropriate tools to do their work efficiently."

Although all of the occupations are subject to some rules of one kind or another, none of them have any uniform regulation so there are varying standards about college admission requirements, length of training, clinical or work placement requirements and so on.

Sandra Murphy, associate dean of nursing at Centennial College, whose responsibilities include that school's personal support worker program, says, "Regulation's a very positive move from a college perspective."


She says what regulation would do is provide quality assurance in the delivery of service, and ensure at the same time that PSWs have the same level of training.

It would also mean that there would be a disciplinary mechanism in place, Murphy says. At the moment the only way to discipline PSWs is to fire them, she says, and even that particular measure doesn't always work since they can go to another agency and get hired.

The report, submitted by the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council, addresses at length the situation of PSWs. It notes that in long-term care homes in Ontario alone there are 57,000 PSWs. It further notes that many people in PSW roles picked up their experience on the job rather than attending college. At least for those who've attended a public college, such as Centennial, there's a common set of standards and a common curriculum, Murphy says.

Sharon Lee, a pharmacist and the co-ordinator of the pharmacy technician program at Humber College, echoes Murphy's views about new regulation. "We are thrilled," Lee says. "We feel this is a positive step forward for the pharmacy technician and the public."

Lee says regulation will ensure standards, including the requisite levels of education required to do the job. Knowing that their pharmacy technicians are regulated and thus fully competent would free up pharmacists to do more counselling, track drug histories and so on, she says.

UNTRAINED PART-TIMERS

Lee says although many pharmacies employ pharmacy technicians, it could be that the person handing over made- up prescriptions is an untrained high school student doing a part-time job. At Humber, she points out, pharmacy technicians must study for two years and spend one month in a retail pharmacy setting and another month in a hospital pharmacy.

The Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs provides the accreditation for pharmacists, and Lee suggests that the CCAPP could also accredit pharmacy technicians once the government brings in the new regulations.

As for the regulation of PSWs, Murphy says they will need their own regulatory body since it's highly unlikely the College of Nurses of Ontario, say, will regulate them since personal support workers are not nurses.

The report anticipates changes in the way certain colleges operate as well as new colleges. It says existing colleges will need to be reconfigured -- Lee suggests pharmacy technicians may be regulated by the Ontario College of Pharmacists -- and new stand-alone colleges will have to be introduced.

---

QUICK FACTS

- At least six health-care occupations have been recommended for regulation -- pharmacy technician, homeopath, naturopath, kinesiologist, psychotherapist, hearing instrument practitioner and personal support worker.

- Regulation will ensure educational standards and provide quality assurance.

- Some professional colleges will regulate some of the occupations under review but new stand-alone colleges will also have to be set up.



Send to a friend     Print