Professionalism & Regulatory Bodies W4:L1

Critical Incidence:

patient is inconvenienced or harmed as a result of an improperly processed sample

Why do you need to be fully trained, certified, and
regulated?

MLS is a Regulated Health Profession in Ontario
• this means that there is existing LEGISLATION that governs
our profession
•You must abide by the attributes of being a
professional and also work within the framework of
legislation governing the profession!

CMLTO Qualities of a professional :

• Competent
• Reliable
• Caring
• Professional image
• Ability to communicate effectively
• Problem solver
• Critical thinker

CMLTO Characteristics of a profession:

• Unique and specialized body of knowledge
• Defined educational standards
• Credentials, licensing, certification
• Standards of practice, code of ethics
• Self-regulating
• Continuing competence

Responsibility:

the state or job of being in charge of someone or
something and of making sure that what they do or what happens to them is right or satisfactory

Competence:

Having the necessary knowledge, skills and judgment to
perform safely, effectively and ethically and applying that knowledge, skill and judgment to ensure safe, effective and ethical outcomes for the patient

Accountability:

taking responsibility for your actions and the actions of
your co‐workers
• Being responsible for one’s decisions and actions, including those undertaken independently or collectively as a member of a team. This means that MLTs must accept the consequences of their decisions and actions and act on the basis of what they, in their clinical judgment, believe is in the best interests of the patient.

CMLTO:

• Professional Accountability

• CMLTO General Standard: The medical laboratory
technologist, in the exercise of independent
judgment, shall accept responsibility and be
accountable to the patient, to herself/himself, the
College and the employer in order to meet the
ethical, legal and quality expectations of
professional practice

Professional societies:

organization seeking to further a
particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in
that profession
• Ex: CSMLS, OSMT, AACC, NHS, etc, etc

Regulatory Colleges in specific provinces:

health regulatory colleges, which regulate the professions in the public interest.
• Ex: Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
Alberta, Quebec

MLTs:

-Must belong to a regulated body
-May belong to a professional association

Professional Associations:

CSMLS
Your voice as a Professional
• Offers professional insurance
• Membership is optional
• Run and funded by its members
• Provides relevant information for the profession

• Administers the National MLT examinations
• All regulated provinces except Quebec require CSMLS certification

CSMLS

Its purpose is:
• To promote and maintain a nationally accepted standard of medical laboratory technology by which other health professionals and the public are assured of effective and economical laboratory services, and

• To promote, maintain and protect the professional identity and interests of
the medical laboratory technologist and of the profession.

CSMLS Standards of Practice:

are designed to measure the accuracy and quality of individual performance and to provide the expectations associated with
professionalism for medical laboratory technologists
(MLTs); they represent the minimum national standards in Canada

“Standard of Practice”:

“the desired and achievable level against which performance can be judged; it provides a benchmark for evaluating acceptable
performance levels”

NATIONAL Standard of Practice (CSMLS):

MLTs must skillfully perform laboratory procedures. They must know the theory behind laboratory analyses and understand associated clinical applications. They must be competent, demonstrate sound judgment and possess good interpretive skills. They must be able to adapt to evolving situations related to various tests and outcomes, must follow established laboratory methods and must adhere to relevant quality control protocols. In addition, medical laboratory technologists must demonstrate appropriate professional conduct at all times

4 Standards:

1. Professional Responsibility and Accountability
2. Competent Application of Knowledge
3. Competency and Proficiency in Laboratory Practice
4. Communication and Collaboration

CSMLS Code of Conduct:

a set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group/profession

Regulatory Bodies for MLTs:

Have legislated responsibility for supervising the
practice of the profession in the province
• Must belong to a “college” in order to practice the
profession!!
• Hold you accountable
• Register Complaints
• Disciplinary action

CMLTO:

• regulates the medical laboratory technology (MLT)
profession to protect the public interest
• is the governing body for MLTs in Ontario
• sets the standards for entry to practice to the MLT
profession
• investigates complaints regarding the professional
conduct of its MLT members

CMLTO Standards of Practice:

Standards of Practice promote the continuing competence of medical laboratory technologists (MLTs) by setting out the expectations of practice against which members can identify opportunities for improvement

CMLTO Code of Ethics:

• Ethics: moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior
• The Code of Ethics defines the expectations the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario (CMLTO) has for every member

CMLTO Quality Assurance:

Quality Assurance is one of the top priorities of the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario (CMLTO)

CMLTO Quality Assurance Committee: develops and maintains a program to ensure MLTs perform to best practice standards

Components of this program include:
• Professional Portfolio
• Practice Review
• Competence Evaluation
• Annual Declarations

Professional portfolio:

Helps members maintain excellence in the profession by
promoting ongoing self‐reflection and development

• Online through CMLTO website
• Random audits once every five years
• CMLTO audits ~75 members/year
• A one‐year cycle (Jan 1‐Dec 31)

Practice Review:

Purpose: to provide an objective assessment of a member's
professional practice.
• Selected members must answer 30 questions, online, related to the CMLTO standards of practice and the application of professional knowledge, skill and judgment.

• All practicing members selected once withing first 2 years of registration
• Practicing members registered more than 2 years randomly selected once every 10 years

Competence Evaluation:

Requested if the QAC is of the opinion that the
member's knowledge, skill, and judgment are
unsatisfactory

The purpose of the competence evaluation is to assess a member’s knowledge, skill, and judgment in one or more of the specialties in which the member is registered to practice

Professional Declarations:

• I complied with the CMLTO Standards of Practice and Code of
Ethics.
• I am competent to practise as a medical laboratory
technologist.
• I understand that it is my professional obligation to maintain an
up-to-date Professional Portfolio.
• I understand that it is mandatory for Practising members to
participate in the CMLTO Quality Assurance Program.
• I understand that I must submit to the College my self-
assessment and learning goals by March 31st.

LABORATORY Regulatory Bodies in Ontario:

LLIS: Laboratory Licensing and Inspection Services ensures that laboratories and specimen collection centers fulfill certain requirements in order to maintain their license

IQMH: Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare ensures the integrity of the medical diagnostic testing system by providing rigorous, objective third party evaluation according to international standards