Quality Assurance

The Reasons Why the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario (CTCMPAO) Has a Quality Assurance Program

The Quality Assurance (QA) Program is an important aspect of the College's mandate. All Colleges under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 must:

• develop, establish and maintain programs and standards of practice to assure the quality of practice of the profession; and
• develop, establish and maintain standards of knowledge and skill and programs to promote continuing evaluation, competence and improvement among the members.

The QA Program for all Colleges must promote continuing education or professional development designed to:

• promote continuing competence and continuing quality improvement among the members;
• promote interprofessional collaboration;
• address changes in practice environments;
• incorporate standards of practice, advances in technology, changes made to entry to practice competencies and other relevant issues in the discretion of the Council
• self, peer and practice assessment; a mechanism for the College to monitor members’ participation in, and compliance with, the Quality Assurance Program.

The goal of the Quality Assurance Program is to protect the public by working in partnership with Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists in Ontario to support and provide them with tools to demonstrate their ongoing competence and to provide members with an opportunity to control their own professional development.

Although over the years Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists have proven their commitment to professionalism and quality patient care through on-going self-development, such efforts have not been formally documented and recognized in many cases. The CTCMPAO Quality Assurance Program will provide members with some tools, guidance and a formal process for identifying, implementing and recording their continuing education and professional development effort.