1. Massage Therapy Competency Project Consortium of Massage Therapy Regulators Vancouver BC May 1 2010 Consultation Workshop

2. Provinces that Currently Regulate Massage Therapy British Columbia  Occupational Competency Profile 2008  Registration exam  Educational program accreditation process Ontario  Massage Therapy Competency Standards 2006  Registration exam Newfoundland & Labrador  Uses the ON standards & exam

3. Regulation is a Provincial Responsibility “Consortium of Regulators” has no formal authority All work done collaboratively is subject to individual regulator approval Regulators are required to collaborate to facilitate Full Labour Mobility Upcoming regulators must be included in collaboration

4. Agreement on Internal Trade: Full Labour Mobility (FLM) requirement Provided there is no substantive difference in scope of practice between jurisdictions  A registrant in good standing in a regulated jurisdiction must (upon application) be registered in another regulated jurisdiction without any condition, restriction or requirement for further education, training or work experience

5. Implications of FLM Irrespective of differences in competency profiles, educational requirements and / or registration assessment processes, all registrants are considered equivalent and must be accorded equal treatment Individuals can obtain registration in any regulated jurisdiction by means of initial registration in another regulated jurisdiction

6. Common Standards? Common entry-to-practice standards across regulated jurisdictions are not required under AIT (but they are encouraged & supported) In the face of FLM it makes little sense for regulators to maintain different entry-to-practice standards - inter-jurisdictional requirements would best serve:PractitionersStudents The public The regulators themselves

7. The Inter-Jurisdictional Competency Project Phase 1 (Jun – Dec 2008)  Comparison of jurisdictional competency requirements  Findings: No difference in scope of practice No substantive difference in entry-to-practice competencies Phase 2 (Sep 2009 – May 2010)  Development of proposed inter-jurisdictional competencies

8. Project Team CMTBC  Peggy Bereza  Judy Crowhurst  (Doug Fairweather) CMTO  Wendy Hunter  Rick Overeem  Kevin Stocker CMTNL  Amy Norris  Joanne Emberley White HRSDC  Benoit Gendron LMCG  Kelly Best

9. Our Objectives for the Inter- Jurisdictional Competencies Simple and user-friendly Realistic expectations for entry-level Massage Therapists  Entry-level does not necessarily equate to full scope of practice  Entry-level practitioners are not experts Content limited to Practice Competencies – job task statements  Fits the regulatory mandate  Defensible in the public interest  Practice competencies drive the requirements for assessment and education (Performance Indicators) Possible Phase 3 for the project

10. Definition of a Practice Competency A practice competency is a job task that can be carried out to a specified level of proficiency  What can be done (task) AT ENTRY LEVEL  How well it can be done (level of proficiency) ENTRY LEVEL PROFICIENCY NOT EXPERTISE

11. Development of proficiency over career span Learning Entry-to- Practice MasteryExpertiseLeadership time Entry-Level Proficiency

12. Proposed Entry-Level Proficiency Definition At entry-level the massage therapist can:  Handle routine situations independently, within a reasonable timeframe  Anticipate likely patient outcomes & respond appropriately  Produce results consistent with generally accepted standards in the profession  Recognize unusual, difficult to resolve & complex situations which may be beyond their capacity, and handle through consultation, supervision, reviewing literature, or referral

13. Practice Competencies are a Starting Point for Professional Standards

14. Practice Competencies (Job Task statements) Performance Indicators (for Assessment of proficiency) Educational Competencies (Learning Outcomes required of training programs) Integrated Competencies for Practice, Assessment & Education

16. When we have the Practice Competencies, What Next? Final recommendation on inter-jurisdictional practice competencies will be developed following this meeting Will the regulators adopt common competencies? How will the competencies be assessed?  Performance Indicators for educational programs  Performance Indicators for registration exam Will this lead to inter-jurisdictional approaches?  Education program approval / accreditation  Registration exam

17. The Proposed Practice Competencies

18. Development Process 3 3-day team meetings to coordinate development of proposed competencies (Sep, Nov, Apr)  Additional work individually & by teleconference  Source documents very important Up-front meeting with non-regulated provinces (Sep) Survey of registrants to validate proposed competencies (Mar-Apr) Post-survey meeting with representatives of professional associations & educators (May) Presentation of final product to the regulatory Boards / Councils (May)

19. The Validation Survey On-line survey made available to all registrants  BC 508 (21%)  ON 2196 (25%)  NL 94 (48%) Margin of error better than +/- 2% (95% confidence) For each PC:  How important is this task in your practice setting?  How frequently do you personally perform this task?  Should this task be an entry-to-practice requirement? Are there tasks missing that you think should be entry-to- practice requirements?

23. Responses to the “Competency Questions” Importance  Items flagged for review if <67% of respondents ranked very important or important Frequency of use  Items flagged for review if <67% of respondents ranked very frequent or frequent Should this be an entry-to-practice requirement?  Items flagged for review if <67% of respondents said yes

24. Our Product – the proposed Practice Competencies 165 Competencies within 14 areas of practice

25. Starting the Links to Assessment & Education We identify the complexity of each PC in 3 domains of learning  Cognitive (knowledge & thinking skills)  Psychomotor (practical, hands-on skills)  Affective (beliefs & values) We specify the educational environment in which proficiency in each PC is to be assessed  Academic  Simulated  Clinical

26. Complexity Definitions Cognitive (knowledge & thinking skills) 1.Remember information 2.Comprehend & apply information 3.Analyze and interpret information 4.Synthesize (create new) information Psychomotor (practical skills) 1.Perform simple patterns and tasks 2.Perform complex patterns and tasks; make minor adjustments based upon outcome 3.Adapt tasks to new situations 4.Develop new tasks Affective (beliefs and values) 1.Recognize, and respond within, a required system of beliefs and values 2.Choose (prefer) to function within a particular system of beliefs and values 3.Internalize a system of beliefs and values and instinctively function within it

27. Educational Assessment Environments Academic  Performance consistent with the definition of E-L Proficiency in an academic assessment environment (such as a written or oral examination) Simulated  Repeated & reliable performance consistent with the definition of E-L Proficiency in a simulated assessment environment (such as utilizing a mannequin or a simulated patient) Clinical  Repeated & reliable performance consistent with the definition of E-L Proficiency in a clinical assessment environment with a variety of patients