Ontario's Podiatrists Welcome Health Human Resource Initiatives

NewsBot · May 3, 2006

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Press Release:
Ontario's Podiatrists Welcome Today's Health Human Resource Initiatives

TORONTO, May 3 /CNW/ - The Ontario Podiatric Medical Association (OPMA)
applauds the Ontario Government's announcement concerning the creation of a
series of roles and programs designed to help address the province's health
human resource shortages. Nevertheless, the OPMA also cautions the government
that these programs will do nothing to address the shortage of Podiatrists and
will do little to address the growing gap between the demand for footcare
services and the supply of regulated foot specialists in Ontario.
"The series of initiatives announced today, particularly the creation of
a one-stop shop for foreign trained professionals, will go a long way to
address the shortage of healthcare professionals in a number of important
areas," said Kel Sherkin, DPM, OPMA President. "However, because of current
legislation, this program will do nothing to increase the number of
Podiatrists in Ontario."
Currently, the Chiropody Act, 1991, the Act under which Podiatrists
practise in Ontario, prohibits the registration of any new Podiatrists in
Ontario after July 31, 1993 - come to be known as the "Podiatry Cap".
Podiatrists registered to practice before that date have access to the
podiatry scope of practice and authorized acts and are also permitted to use
the protected title "Podiatrist". After that date, anyone who has been
educated as Podiatrists can only register with the College of Chiropodists of
Ontario as Chiropodists and are restricted to the more limited chiropody scope
of practice and authorized acts.
"Only by removing the Podiatry Cap, would Chiropodists in Ontario who
have a podiatry education be able to register as Podiatrists. This would also
allow Podiatrists practising in other provinces and countries to come to
Ontario to practise as Podiatrists," explained Sherkin. "Allowing more
Podiatrists to practice in Ontario will help relieve hospital wait times for
footcare, decrease emergency room visits for foot problems easily treated by
podiatry clinics and overall help relieve the physician shortage by reducing
the demand on physicians and orthopaedic surgeons."
"Podiatrist (i.e. Doctors of Podiatric Medicine) are recognized around
the world as the gold standard in footcare," explained Peter Stavropoulos,
DPM, OPMA Past President. "It is indeed ironic that legislation is causing the
demise of the profession in Ontario."

The Ontario Podiatric Medical Association represents Ontario's
Podiatrists. Podiatrists are regulated as a separate class of members by the
College of Chiropodists (which also regulates Chiropodists). Podiatrists have
the same authorized acts and scope of practice as Chiropodists, however,
Podiatrists also have access to additional authorized acts, including the
ability to communicate diagnoses and perform surgery on the forefoot.
Podiatrists are also permitted to take x-rays and podiatric services are
partially covered by OHIP.
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Admin2 · May 3, 2006

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Aussie Podiatrist wanting to practice in Canada...

NewsBot · May 4, 2006

Press release:
The Michener Institute Commends the HealthForceOntario Initiative for Allied Health Professionals

TORONTO, May 3 /CNW/ - The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences
(The Michener Institute) commends Minister George Smitherman of the Ministry
of Health and Long-Term Care for launching the HealthForceOntario Initiative
today and in particular for a renewed focus on the allied health professions.
The Michener Institute is very encouraged by the introduction of four new
roles in Ontario's health care system: Physician Assistant, Nurse Endoscopist,
Surgical First Assist and Clinical Specialist Radiation Therapist. The
announcements specifically address the health human resource shortages in the
allied health professions which are already as significant and severe as the
shortages of Physicians and Nurses.
Respiratory Therapists, Medical Laboratory Technologists, Chiropodists,
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technologists, Radiation Therapists,
Radiological Technologists, Nuclear Medicine Technologists and Ultrasound
Technologists stand to benefit from today's health care announcements, as do
other health care providers, but the people of Ontario are the ultimate
beneficiaries. The Ministry's emphasis on interprofessionalism amongst all
levels of health care professionals, together with a strong focus on
collaborative patient-centred care, will ensure that patients can access and
receive optimum levels of care from the individuals who diagnose their blood
work, take their x-rays, administer MRI and CT scans and provide ultrasounds,
in collaboration with the MD's and RN's. These competencies begin at the
educational level, and prior to entry to the professions.
"The Minister's announcements demonstrate a solid commitment to the
health of Ontarians and support for the role of allied health professionals in
patient care," affirms Dr. Paul Gamble, President and CEO of The Michener
Institute. "The Michener Institute is very encouraged by the Ministry's
HealthForceOntario Initiative and we look forward to working collaboratively
with the Ministry, other health care providers and partners to address
potential educational and training solutions for the current health human
resource shortages. The emergence of four new roles within our health care
system heralds a new era of thinking about our health care needs and targeting
those areas of need in a most direct and efficient way." In January 2006, The
Michener Institute, with the assistance of the Ministry of Health and Long-
Term Care, rapidly responded to provincial needs by establishing another new
role in health care: Anesthesia Assistant. The curriculum model for the
training of Anesthesia Assistants incorporated interprofessionalism and the
principle of collaborative patient-centred care.
"The Michener Institute is the first health care educator in Ontario to
embark on a new applied health education model that fully incorporates
interprofessionalism to meet the growing health care needs of Ontarians,"
explains Wendy Sutton, Chair of the Board of Governors for The Michener
Institute. The Michener Institute's new curriculum integrates three key
educational philosophies: interprofessional education, simulation-enhanced
education, and health care competency assessment to complement theoretical
learning and clinical education.
The Michener Institute's new curriculum model will be applied to the
following programs starting September 2006: Anesthesia Assistant, Chiropody,
Diagnostic Cytology, Genetics Technology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI),
Medical Laboratory Science, Respiratory Therapy and Ultrasound. The Medical
Radiation Sciences programs (Nuclear Medicine, Radiation Therapy, Radiological
Technology), which are joint programs with the University of Toronto, will
incorporate the new academic model in September 2007.
Additional information on The Michener Institute's new academic
curriculum is found at www.michener.ca
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