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It is mandatory for every registrant to complete their CMRITO QA ePortfolio each year. The QA year runs from January 1 to December 31. There are four components to this portfolio:
QA Profile
Self-assessment
Record of continuing education and professional development
Below are tips and commonly asked questions regarding these four components.
The QA Profile provides an overview of your practice as a registrant.
| Common questions regarding how to complete the QA Profile: | Comments |
|---|---|
| Authorized Acts, statement 5. Applying a prescribed form of energy | This statement applies to electromagnetism for MRI and soundwaves for diagnostic ultrasound. |
| What type of energy does this statement refer to? | Under the RHPA, the prescribed form of energy that registrants are authorized to apply is electromagnetism for magnetic resonance imaging and soundwaves for diagnostic ultrasound. The applications of other forms of energy used in other specialties are governed by other legislation. For example, the use and application of ionizing radiation is governed by the HARP Act and the use and application of nuclear substances is governed by the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. |
The self-assessments are based on the CMRITO’s standards of practice.
| Common questions regarding how to complete the self-assessment: | Comments |
|---|---|
| How many standards do I have to complete every year? |
Each year, you are required to assess your individual practice against the practice standards and related indicators applicable to your specialty. You are required to complete a minimum of two of the eight standards each year, but can assess your individual practice against more, if you wish. Not all registrants will perform all the practice standards or the related indicators. You may choose two practice standards and their related indicators that best reflect your practice, or where you'd like to focus your learning activities. |
| I am currently working in a field other than medical radiation and imaging technology and am not practicing as a registrant of the profession, how do I assess myself against the practice standards and the related indicators? | You are required to indicate whether you perform or support the performance of the selected practice standards and the related indicators in your practice. You may not perform all the practice standards or indicators by providing medical radiation and imaging technology services directly to patients. However, you may support other registrants in the performance of certain practice standards and the related indicators in your role as educator, manager, applications specialist, IT or PACS administrator, Radiation Safety Officer, or other role. |
Each calendar year, registrants must complete 25 hours of continuous education and professional development activities.
| Common questions regarding how to record continuing education and professional development activities: | Comments |
|---|---|
| What types of learnings can I include in my QA ePortfolio? | The CMRITO QA Program does not require registrants to spend 25 hours in a classroom or formal courses. Many types of informal learning may be counted, such as attendance at staff meetings and rounds, study groups, or learning a new piece of equipment, procedure or software from a colleague or applications specialist. |
| I have read a journal or paper online that contains multiple articles and topics, how do I record this as a learning activity? |
The journals or websites (e.g. Filter, Aunt Minnie, and GE TiP Ed) should not be generalized. Each article should point out a key learning. Title and name of the author should be documented for each article/topic. Each topic/article/learning should be catalogued as a new activity. |
| I have done a series of Aunt Minnie's, how do I record this as a learning activity? | Because the Aunt Minnie's cover an array of topics, it is suggested to enter each session as a separate activity.
Below are examples of how to incorrectly and correctly enter Aunt Minnie learning activities in your QA Portfolio. Incorrect:Title of Activity: Aunt Minnie Explain what you have learned and explain how this learning has helped you in your practice: Interesting articles on pathology Correct:Title of Activity: Aunt Minnie: 'Right lower quadrant pain undiagnosed in 46 year old female'. Explain what you have learned and explain how this learning has helped you in your practice: "I was able to better understand all of the possibilities that could cause RLQ pain in female patients. I have a better understanding of the appropriate protocol to use (thee views vs. one view of the abdomen) for specific pathologies. I can ensure the patient is getting the right x-ray views to best visualize the pathology." |
| How do I record a staff meeting as a learning activity? | Not all staff meetings will have content to record as continuing education or professional development. You must record only those sections of the meeting that is providing educational content that enhances your role.
Example: Correct:Explain what you have learned and explain how this learning has helped you in your practice: "We discussed ways to improve the current protocols in CT and BMD by reviewing the current processes and updating them. Staff will then need to be communicated with on the new and updated protocols and informed as to where locate the protocols. This should be completed within the next month and the seniors will take the lead. I felt this discussion will improve my practice because I realized that we all were not following the same protocol for the same clinical indication. In some areas there is redundant or duplicate information that could lead to human error by staff not performing the proper protocol.” Incorrect:Explain what you have learned and explain how this learning has helped you in your practice: “This meeting addressed several changes to our daily practice in our department.” |
| Do my teaching hours count towards my QA ePortfolio? |
The amount of time documented for this activity, is the amount of time you spend preparing for the teaching session. It is important to state how you apply the learning outcome in your practice and not what the student/audience learns. If you are teaching the same session to different individuals or groups, you should only document time for one preparation of the session. |
Once you have completed your QA Profile and Self-Assessment, you will be ready to start working on your Record of Continuing Education and Professional Development.
Remember, you are required to complete a minimum of 25 hours per year of continuous learning activities. This is your demonstration of commitment to the CMRITO's QA Program. Evidence of completion of this requirement may be requested by the CMRITO at any time. One of the criteria the QA Committee will use to assess whether your Quality Assurance ePortfolio is satisfactory is whether you can demonstrate that you have completed a minimum of 25 hours per year of continuous learning or professional development activities.since evidence of completing a minimum of 25 hours per year of continuing education and professional development activities may be requested by CMRITO at any time, it is important that you keep the information and records included in your Quality Assurance Portfolio up to date
your portfolio should not include confidential information that you may not want accessible to others without your permission
do not include in your portfolio any information that may identify your patients (e.g. names, OHIP numbers)
keep in mind that your choice of continuing education and professional development activities must support your job as a CMRITO registrant. However, each individual registrant's learning needs will be very different due to the large variety of practice settings (e.g. the learning needs of a clinical registrant will be different from a company applications specialist or a clinical instructor)
always document your learning activity as it is stated in subsection 5(2) of Ontario Regulation 375/12 made under the Medical Radiation and Imaging Technology Act, 2017: "A registrant shall keep a record of his or her self-assessments and participation in continuing education or professional development activities in the form and manner approved by the Committee and shall retain the record for the period of time specified by the Committee." The Quality Assurance Committee has approved the QA ePortfolio as the form in which registrants must record their self assessments and participation in continuing education or professional development activities
continuous learning contributes to professional competence and better job performance. So always record how this learning activity helps you on the job
We require our registrants to be engaged in continuing education and professional development activities that relate to the practice of the profession. This way, the public is assured of the maintenance and improvement of registrants' competence over time.