The Complaint

The College received a complaint from a patient about the care she received from her physiotherapist at a private clinic. The PT, about whom the complaint was made, had used a high school co-op student to apply an ultrasound to the patient’s back and shoulder area. The physiotherapist was not in the room while this was taking place.

According to the patient, she had not consented to having a high school student involved in her treatment. She called out to the physiotherapist, complained and asked that the high school student not involved in her treatment moving forward.

What should the College’s Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) do?

We are asking you to be a member of the College’s Inquires, Complaints and Reports Committee ― the group of elected PTs and public and academic representatives whose job it is to review complaints that come to the College about physiotherapists.

Here are the questions you should ask yourself when you are deciding what should happen as a result of this complaint.

• Should a high school student be used as a physiotherapy assistant under any circumstances?
• If it is okay for a high school student to deliver some elements of treatment? Is an ultrasound a treatment you would expect a high school student to deliver to patients?
• If anyone other than the PT is going to deliver treatment, does that need to be part of the discussion when the PT obtains consent from the patient?
• If the physiotherapist's assistant is particularly young or otherwise an unusual candidate for the role, would that mean a special consent conversation should have taken place?
• Would you expect that the physiotherapist would supervise a high school student differently than he or she might supervise someone with a PTA credential?
• Does permitting a high school student to provide ultrasound appropriately uphold the reputation of the profession?
• Is the situation less problematic than it might have been had the PT not listened as soon as the patient said she wanted the treatment to stop?
• Should the decision of the Committee be influenced by the fact that the PT about whom the complaint was made changed the practice at his or her clinic after the complaint?

Once you have considered each of these questions, please let us know what you would have decided to do if you were a member of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) that considered this complaint.

Additional Resources

When in doubt, contact the College’s Practice Advisor by phone or email. She provides advice on an anonymous basis and can help you work through difficult decisions.