Alberta Health and Wellness to Recommend Regulation of Massage Therapy

The MTAA, on behalf of the Legislation Steering Committee, is pleased to advise that correspondence has been received on today's date from Mr. Ron Liepert, Minister of Health and Wellness regarding the presentation made to the Health Professions Advisory Board in October 2008 on regulation of massage therapy in Alberta.

 

We are delighted to announce that Mr. Liepert has advised the MTAA, Remedial Massage Therapists Association and the Natural Health Practitioners of Canada Association that he is prepared to recommend to Cabinet that the Health Professions Act be amended to include massage therapists as a regulated profession!

 

Mr. Liepert outlines in his correspondence that he is not prepared to recommend a multi-category entry to practice model to Cabinet, but rather will be recommending that the model of regulation be a single category model based on the proposed 2009 national competency model, or its successor, and that all approved education programs be a minimum of 2,200 hours.

 

Please click here to download and review a copy of the entire correspondence, which also outlines the recommendations for a transitional steering committee to begin the process of massage therapy becomming a regulated health profession under the Health Professions Act.

 

We look forward to sharing additional news and information with all of our members as we move forward in this exciting process.

 

 

Alberta Health and Wellness to Review Regulation of Massage Therapy

The MTAA, on behalf of the Legislation Steering Committee, is pleased to disclose the successful completion of the hearing conducted by the Health Professions Advisory Board (HPAB) on October 15 and 16, 2008.

The MTAA, ARMTS and RMTA were granted time to present the 2006 re-application to the HPAB and attempted to satisfy the requirements in speaking to the issues and participating in the process of applying to become a regulated health profession.

At this point, it can be said that the hearing concluded with great success.  All stakeholders in the matter were given the opportunity to contribute to the body of information needed to consider when making such an encompassing recommendation.

We would like to thank the HPAB for ensuring that all interested parties were given the opportunity to be heard.  This ensures that any recommendation made by the HPAB and subsequent decision by the Minister of Health and Wellness is made from a well informed and widely consulted upon perspective.

In order to continue our diligence in maintaining transparency , open communication and facilitation of understanding of our application and proposed model of regulation, we remain committed to providing interested parties with copies of the documents submitted as part of our efforts to be considered by the HPAB.  Please note that some of the referenced documentation can be found on external websites as noted below: 

Application for Regulation of Massage Therapy

About the Health Professions Act

 

How will regulation of massage therapy affect me?

In a very broad perspective, regulation of the profession will not affect MTAA members due to the requirements and standards that the association has held in high regard since its incorporation.

The Health Professions Act, Part 1, 3(1), states that the role of a college is to:
(a) carry out its activities and govern its regulated members in a manner that protects and serves the public interest,
(b) provide direction to, and regulate the practice of the regulated profession by its regulated members,
(c) establish, maintain and enforce standards for registration and continuing competence and standards of practice of the regulated profession, establish, maintain and enforce a code of ethics and
(d) carry on the activities of the college and perform other duties and functions by the exercise of the powers conferred by this act.

The MTAA, as a self-regulating body, has established, maintained and enforced standards for membership, continuing competence, as well as an established Scope of Practice and Code of Ethics.

We highly recommend that you download and review the Alberta Health and Wellness document titled “Health Professions Act:  a new law for regulated health care professionals”, which is available in PDF format by clicking above on the document title.  This booklet outlines the basics of the Health Professions Act and is a general guide to how the HPA affects all regulated health professions.

 

Is the application submitted what regulation will look like in Alberta?

 

The application submitted is a proposed framework for regulation of the massage therapy profession in Alberta.  This proposed framework is based on the established regulatory college framework already in place in British Columbia, Ontario and Newfoundland/Labrador.  The purpose of the application process is to show Alberta Health and Wellness that considerable thought has gone into our request to have the profession regulated.  The final regulatory “model” will be determined by the Board of Directors for the College, based on input from the profession and upon review of the effects of regulation with other jurisdictions across Canada.

 

 

Which of the associations in Alberta will become the College once regulated?

 

Once the HPAB makes recommendation to the Minister of Health and Wellness that massage therapy should be regulated under the Health Professions Act, a College Council will be formed.  No one organization in the province will instantly “become” the College, however there is the distinct possibility that representatives from each of the organizations may be invited to sit on the College Council.  The College Council itself consists of the president and:

(a)        the regulated members provided for in the bylaws,
(b)        the non‑voting members, if any, provided for in the bylaws, and
(c)        subject to section 12(1), the number of public members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Section 12(1) states:  Twenty‑five percent of the voting members of a council, a complaint review committee and a hearing tribunal and of a panel of any of them must be public members but with the consent of the council the percentage of the public members may be greater than 25%.

Will I have to take another exam to be a member of the college?

 

It is highly unlikely that MTAA members will be required to take another Entry to Practice Examination in order to become members of a College.  As outlined in Part 2 of the Health Professions Act:

 

Health professionals who want to register with a college must meet the entry requirements set out in each profession’s regulation. A candidate can enter the profession one of three ways:

 

1. Have the specified combination of education and experience set out in the college regulation.

2. Come from another jurisdiction whose standards are recognized by the college as equivalent to Alberta’s.

3. Be able to show that acquired education and experience are sufficient and equivalent to the entry requirements set out by the college.

 

Under the HPA, all health professionals who meet the requirements for registration must be registered with their regulatory college to provide professional services to the public.

 

Attachment III of the application for regulation submitted by the MTAA, ARMTS and RMTA outlines a proposal for the entry requirements to the profession of Massage Therapy.  In addition to meeting the requirements as outlined in the HPA for new practitioners, it is proposed that upon establishment of the proposed College, currently practicing massage therapists will have their competence assessed in accordance with the following criteria:

 

(i)   Recognition of Active Professional Membership: in organizations which can demonstrate a long history of adherence to high professional standards and codes of conduct, evidence of having policed their own membership, requirements for continuing education and professional development, and a history of carefully assessing the qualifications for entry to membership through activities such as examination or assessment of prior learning, and

 (ii)   Prior professional experience: at least three years (a minimum of 1200 hours) of safe practice, which could include clinical responsibilities, supervision, mentoring and teaching, and

 (iii)  Education and Training: to qualify for registration, registrants might be required to undertake a program of training including assessment.  This would be based on pre-determined criteria, and use a range of innovative, self-learning and practical tutorial workshops

 OR

 (iv)  Successful Completion of a Standardized Examination: at the discretion of the future Registrar and/or Registration Committee, those who have not successfully completed an examination within the past ten years (of the date of establishment of the proposed "College of Massage Therapy under the HPA) would be required to successfully pass a formal examination to assess their skills and knowledge.

 

Existing massage therapy practitioners who do not meet these criteria would be registered as "temporary/provisional registrants" for up to 12 months, with the stipulation that they actively work toward meeting the criteria at the direction of the Registrar.  The Registrar or Registration Committee would be empowered to grant one 12 month extension upon being provided with documented evidence that the temporary/provisional registrant was actively seeking to meet the requirements of full registration. Every effort will be made to support these individuals in their progress to meeting the required standards.