If your current circumstances make it difficult for you to complete the screening interview, you can email the Quality Assurance team at qualityassurance@collegept.org to request an extension or deferral. The request must be in writing and should be submitted as soon as possible after you are selected for a screening interview.
To help College staff and the Quality Assurance Committee make a decision, please provide as much detail as you can, including:
- The reason you are requesting a deferral or extension
- Any supporting documentation you can share
- How much extra time you think you need
Extensions, of up to three months, may be granted for the following reasons:
- Personal injury or illness
- Injury or illness of a family member and the PT is the primary caregiver
- Extenuating personal circumstances
- Not currently in practice due to a parental leave or enrollment in a full-time education program
- The PT is the subject of an active professional conduct matter with the College
Deferrals, of up to one year, may be granted for the following reasons:
- Personal injury or illness
- Injury or illness of a family member and the PT is the primary caregiver
- Extenuating personal circumstances
- Not currently in practice due to a parental leave or enrollment in a full-time education program
- The PT is the subject of an active professional conduct matter with the College
No, you do not have to pay for anything related to your screening interview.
Examples of a conflict of interest may include:
- You know the assessor personally
- The assessor is a family member
- You have another close connection with the assessor
The assessor assigned to you was selected based on a few factors. You can ask for a new assessor if a conflict of interest exists. Otherwise, you are expected to proceed with the assessor you have been matched with.
A conflict of interest could be that you know the assessor personally, the assessor is a family member, or you have some other close connection to this person.
We try to match assessors and physiotherapists based on several factors such as practice setting and rostered activities.
There may be several reasons why we cannot closely match an assessor with you. Please be assured that the questions in the screening interview are applicable across all practice settings. The assessors have been trained by the College and they have been given scoring cues to help them listen for information they need.
The screening interview can be booked to accommodate your schedule and can absolutely be completed in the evening or on the weekend. The assessor will work with you to find a mutually agreeable day and time.
There is no obligation to complete the screening interview during the day on a weekday.
Currently, the College does not conduct screening interviews in person.
The assessor will work with you to find a video conference program (such as Zoom) that you both feel comfortable using to complete the screening interview.
All screening interviews should be completed by video conference. There are many benefits to being able to see your assessor. Additionally, communication is more effective if the assessor can see you too.
Of course, if technical difficulties arise during the video conference, you can turn your camera off or the interview can be completed by telephone.
For the screening interview, you are required to select one patient record to conduct a self-audit record keeping checklist. Once you complete this checklist, you need to upload the completed checklist, NOT the patient file, to the PT Portal.
The purpose of conducting a self-audit of your record keeping is to help you identify areas of your record keeping that may benefit from improvement. It is okay to find a gap (or two) in your record keeping practices. Once you complete the checklist, review any items that you scored as No.
Take a moment to reflect on these items and comment on how you plan to correct them going forward.
No, you should not include the patient’s name but you should include enough detail to be able to locate the record, if the College’s Quality Assurance Committee requests it at a later date.
Submit your completed Record Keeping Checklist by uploading it to the PT Portal.
Please upload the checklist as a jpeg, Word or pdf file.
How to upload your Record Keeping Checklist:
- Log into the PT Portal
- Click on the Practice Assessments tab
- Click on the Screening Interview link
- Upload your Checklist in the document upload section
If you are having difficulty uploading the file you can email it to qualityassurance@collegept.org or call the Quality Assurance Team for assistance at 416-591-3828 ext. 212 or 1-800-583-5885 ext. 212.
It is fine to use a multi-disciplinary record. You only need to review notes related to the physiotherapy care.
After selecting a patient record to review, go through each item in the checklist and indicate YES for items that are present, NO for any missing items or NOT APPLICABLE (NA) if the listed item does not apply to the record you selected for review.
For any items you score as NA make a brief note why this item does not apply. For any items you score as NO make a note about what you plan to do to fix the problem.
The Record Keeping Checklist items are not part of the score that decides if you need to complete an on-site assessment but are considered part of your overall results.
Some PTs work in irregular hours or unique practice situations. All PTs selected for a screening interview must complete a review of one patient record using a checklist. If you work in a unique situation, you can select a record that best reflects your practice.
Try to follow the advice in the instructional document for selecting a patient record to review. Alternatively, pick a patient record that best reflects your typical practice. For example, if you only assess patients in your current practice then select a patient record where you performed the assessment. You may not be able to score all items on the checklist. If checklist items do not apply to your practice or the record you choose to review, mark it as ‘Not Applicable’ and briefly state why.
Also, do not review or score entries in the record that are completed by other team members — just yours.
Before your interview, you should review the questions that you’ll be asked during interview. Think of specific examples from your practice over the last year that you can highlight to answer the question. Note that any follow up questions the assessor may ask to get more information are not provided beforehand.
You should also review the rules and standards that you will be asked about during the interview.
You are also required to upload the Record Keeping Checklist to the PT Portal at least one week before your scheduled screening interview date.
Yes, you can bring notes and a patient chart to your screening interview to refer back to as needed.
Remember that your answers for the screening interview should not be scripted. The screening interview is meant to be conversational, but some point form notes may help you remember certain examples you would like to reference in your answers.
Results from the screening interview will be available two to three weeks after the date that you completed your screening interview.
You will receive an email from the College indicating that the results of your screening interview are available in the PT Portal.
The results of your screening interview will indicate if you have successfully completed your screening interview or if you are required to complete an on-site assessment.
If you have successfully completed the screening interview, your assessment is complete and no further action is required.
If you are required to complete an on-site assessment, you will receive further information from the College to begin that part of the assessment process.
The College anticipates that approximately five to 10 percent of physiotherapists will be required to complete an on-site assessment.
No. Your screening interview or assessment results should not be shared with anyone. The report (including summary scores) is confidential and for your learning only.
Additionally, the College cannot not share your results with anyone – including other areas of the College, colleagues or your employers.
No, you cannot request a second screening interview. The screening interview is simply a tool to determine if the College needs to know more about your practice. If you are required to do an on-site assessment, you will have the opportunity to discuss your practice in more detail.
No, there is no process to appeal the results of your screening interview. This tool is simply used to determine if the College needs more information about your practice.