College Blog 

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  • Creating a Discussion: More than Just a Checked Box

    Jul 24, 2018

    By: Elizabeth Leung, PT Student

    Nervous. Anxious. Stressed. I am on my way into a mock practical. Okay, nameless examiner—I see you watching me in the background. I introduce myself to the fake patient. Great. I’m getting consent. That means I’m asking for consent. Check. She said “Yes.” Check. Okay, now that I’ve mumbled and motored my way through a few words, it’s time to answer the question on the door.

    Did I really just “obtain consent”? Theoretically, yes. The examiner can’t say I didn’t ask for consent.

    But is an uneducated, uninformed “Yes” truly a “Yes?” Not by a long shot.

    Consent isn’t this little word that can be obtained simply by asking for it or ticking a box on a piece of paper. It’s a discussion. It’s a continuous open dialogue. It’s a time for questions and answers.

    Read this. Sign that. Say “Yes.” Hurry up!

    Okay, let’s start over again.

    Why am I getting consent? But wait, consent isn’t about me.

    Let’s change the question.

    Why are you giving me consent? What does this mean to the patient? What are you saying “Yes” to?

    Sometimes, learning to get consent as a student felt like it was all about me. And it kind of was, but what I practiced over and over in school about getting consent was suddenly difficult to translate into the real world. I felt a little unprepared to take that leap from student to clinician. 

    Nervous. Anxious. Stressed. These were all of my feelings. But at that moment, it never occurred to me to consider that a patient could be feeling these things too, but for totally different reasons. That’s not something you can learn from a fake patient. And these feelings that your patient might have are not things you can assume are fine and under control just because they said “Yes.”

    As a student in school, you’re doing things for you. You want good grades. You want the examiner to tick the boxes that prove that you did A, B, and C. It’s not until you’re face-to-face with a real patient that you finally start doing things for somebody else. And, I think that being a good physio starts with being good at obtaining consent.

    Fast-forward a few months. I’m now on my way to an appointment, feeling those same familiar feelings—but this time as a patient. My surgeon takes her time discussing what it means to have open heart surgery. Suddenly, I feel my heart pounding and my body feels numb. I want to leave. I eyeball the door. I see her mouth moving but I don’t hear anything. (Um, I thought this only happened in movies?) She’s looking straight at me. I think I nodded my head? What did she say again? I’m embarrassed to ask. She slows down her speech, and draws me a diagram. She shows me images of my echocardiogram on the computer. I calm down. My heart stops pounding. She repeats herself and I can hear her voice again. She asks me if I have any questions. I did. She answers them all.

    Thinking back on this experience, she was obtaining consent through an open dialogue. She was looking at my face, not at my medical records. She wasn’t bluntly asking me “Do you consent?” She wasn’t talking at me or merely sliding me a stack of papers to read and sign. She wanted me to really understand what was going to happen.

    During my time here at the College, I’ve read through a number of cases that I would most definitely call a physio’s worst nightmare. It’s bad to get cautioned and it’s horrible to get disciplined. But, to have your license revoked permanently because you didn’t take the time to obtain valid, informed consent? It’s not just a nightmare for some—it’s a reality. And the worst part is, you’ve caused real harm to a patient. These cases are also permanently visible for anyone to read about on the Public Register

    So, How Can I Avoid this Ever Happening to Me?

    Combining my experiences here at the College, as a student working with real patients, and as a patient myself, I’ve crafted a short list to help me obtain valid, informed consent:

    1. Read the patient’s history. No, not just their past physical impairments and diagnosis. Pay close attention to any notes about their mental health history.
    2. Explain what you are going to do. Throw that physio jargon out the window and use simple language.
    3. Remind your patients they can stop the assessment/treatment at any time, that it’s okay to change their mind. Discuss the risks and benefits carefully. Let them ask questions. Even better, ask them to ask you questions.
    4. Slow down. Wait for them to digest all the information you just threw at them.
    5. Pay attention to their body language as well as their words. Base your clinical judgement on both.
    6. Write it down. You did not just go through this long journey of obtaining valid, informed consent just to accidentally forget to document it. It is important that you write down the consent process in the patient’s record. Yes, all of it.

    Read the Consent Standard

     

    Elizabeth Leung, a physiotherapy student who is doing a placement at the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario, blogs about the importance of consent in physiotherapy practice.
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    • Consent
  • Delisted: Make Sure it Doesn’t Happen to You

    May 24, 2018
    A blog by Fiona Campbell, Senior Physiotherapy Advisor at the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario, explaining how and when a physiotherapist may be delisted by an insurance company.
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    • Delisted
    • Delisting
    • Abuse
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  • A Bedtime Story

    Apr 27, 2018
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    • billing
    • assistant
    • physiotherapist assistant
    • PTA
    • Fraud
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    • massage therapist
  • Who Runs the College Anyway?

    Mar 02, 2018
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  • Did You Make a New Year’s Resolution to Lose Weight this Year?

    Jan 22, 2018
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  • The Assessment Program Undergoes An Assessment

    Dec 07, 2017
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  • Harvey Weinstein

    Oct 16, 2017
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  • The Common Denominator: Billing, Registration, Professional Identity

    Sep 07, 2017
    Jamie G. Dockx, PT Student Clinical placement at the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario   I have had the privilege of spending 5 weeks at the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario for my final student placement. After 4 clinical placements, it was time to learn the ins and outs at the College. Learning about the […]
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  • What’s Your Ism?

    Aug 09, 2017
    How do your conscious or unconscious biases affect your ability to provide safe and effective care for patients? If you work in a private practice setting, think about your office for a minute. Do you have posters for promotion or décor?  Do you have gym equipment?  Is there any chance that these décor elements might […]
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    • Jenny Setchell
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    • Shenda Tanchak
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    • World Congress for Physical Therapy
  • In It Together

    Apr 25, 2017
    You run a clinic. Your receptionist is rude. Your physiotherapist assistant bills for services not provided. Your brand-new PT burns a patient with a heating pad. Whose responsibility is all this? If you guess that you’re on the hook for behavior by those you employ or supervise, you are right. You work for a clinic. […]
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  • Doing The Right Thing – Nobody Said It Was Going To Be Easy

    Feb 03, 2017
    Have you heard of convicted serial killer Harold Shipman? He was a UK doctor found guilty of killing 15 of his patients. After his conviction, a two-year inquiry spearheaded by the British government revealed that he had in fact killed an upward of 250 patients throughout a 23 year span. Shipman’s killing spree began to […]
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  • How to Make Yourself COMPLAINT-PROOF!

    Nov 21, 2016
    Do you ever wonder who gets complained about? Look around at your colleagues and play a little game of detective with yourself. One way to start is to find someone who is rude—in writing or in person. A very high percentage of our complaints stem from inappropriate lapses in what you might call “customer service” […]
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  • My Big Fat Deal of the Day

    Oct 21, 2016
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    • advertising
    • Advertising Standard
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    • WagJag
  • Backstage Pass: So, What’s the College Really Like?

    Sep 12, 2016
    Having spent the last five weeks at the College doing my final clinical placement, I was able to gain insight into processes that, as a physiotherapy student, most are not exposed to. Going in I was aware (as I’m sure my peers are) of things like the complaints process and practice assessments when I thought […]
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    • Consent
    • Professionalism
    • Standards
    • The College
    • College
    • College of Physiotherapists of Ontario
    • investigations
    • Patients
    • physiotherapists
    • physiotherapy
    • protect the public
    • public
    • public interest
    • quality care
    • scope of practice
    • self-regulation
  • You’re 10 times better than the clinic next door and twice as good looking!

    Jul 25, 2016
    Chances are that if you are reading this blog, you will also have noticed that our Advertising Standard is up for review. Do you know that it is likely our most breached Standard? And I’m sure that you did not know that as soon as the new Standard is finalized, we will begin to actively […]
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  • Let’s Get Strategic

    May 25, 2016
    Whoever first said ‘time flies’ could have been talking about the strategic planning cycle. Four years ago—a month after I had started working at the College― Council met to develop a strategic plan. They set three goals that we’ve been working hard to achieve, goals to ensure that physiotherapy regulation in Ontario focussed on things […]
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    • Policy
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    • Shenda Tanchak
  • STOP IT BEFORE YOU GET IN TROUBLE! A RANT.

    Apr 05, 2016
    I am receiving more and more reports about physiotherapists sending patients for personal training or Pilates and enabling patients to submit receipts for these services under the physiotherapist’s registration number. Guess what? In many cases this is inappropriate and you could get in serious trouble. The ONLY time that your credentials can be used to […]
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    • Policy
  • When Breaking Up is Hard to Do

    Feb 09, 2016
    You’ve been seeing Janet for several months. She’s an elderly widow who first came to you following a knee replacement. She recovered quite well and is ready to be discharged. The problem is, Janet really likes you and wants to continue coming for therapy. She makes weekly appointments for the treatment of back pain. But, you are […]
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    • Policy
  • Are Great Practitioners At Risk of Losing Their Reputation?

    Jan 20, 2016
    There was a BBC headline that caught my eye not too long ago: “Athletics doping: What happens if trust goes out of sport?”* It was about the results of an independent commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency, but it could have been about your profession. It could have been physiotherapists. I have to […]
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    • Policy
  • How Will You Stay Inspired in 2016?

    Jan 08, 2016
    Guest Blogger: Shari Hughes, PT I just read something inspiring—so inspiring in fact, that I want to share it with my fellow PTs. Here it is: “Our quest [as health care providers] is clear…It’s a search for meaning in the value of the person who has come to honour us with his or her quest […]
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    • 27th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care
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    • Don Berwick
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