A Message from ACOT’s CEO/Registrar
Happy Occupational Therapy Month! A message from ACOT’s CEO & Registrar.
Refreshed SoP and CoE and the New CCPM Are Live!
ACOT’s Standards of Practice (SoP) and Code of Ethics (CoE) are officially refreshed and approved by Council! A sincere thank you to the steering committee, working groups, Indigenous OT consultants and numerous key partners who contributed to the new format and content! The Standards of Practice set the minimum expectations and requirements for occupational therapy practice in Alberta, and the Code of Ethics guides registrants on how to conduct themselves in their practice. The refreshed documents are more aligned with fellow regulated health professions’ standards and codes and meet current Alberta Health legislated requirements. The refreshed SoP and CoE are now in effect and are available at www.acot.ca under the Practice Resources tab. With the SoP and CoE refresh completed, the College is now focused on updating ACOT policies and practice resources to accurately refer and link to the current SoP and CoE and relevant legislation (e.g., Health Professions Restricted Activity Regulation).
The Health Statutes Amendment Act No. 2 (Bill 46) introduced amendments to the Health Professions Act that required all health professions to create standards related to continuing competence. ACOT’s new Competence standard, introduced within the refreshed Standards of Practice, outlines registrants’ obligations to participate in and submit each year during practice permit renewal, the Continuing Competence Program (CCP) requirements as established by Council and published in the new Continuing Competence Program Manual (CCPM). The CCPM provides registrants with a detailed overview of the CCP requirements. For comprehensive directions on how to complete your CCP submission, please refer to the new CCP Comprehensive Step by Step Guide, along with the 2024/2025 Step by Step Renewal Guide which will be updated soon for the 2025/2026 renewal period. All CCP resources can be found under the Continuing Competence tab on the ACOT website.
Please take some time to review these essential regulatory documents. If you would like ACOT to provide an in-person or virtual session at your workplace, to discuss and explore the new documents together, please contact ACOT. Requests or questions regarding the SoP, CoE and CCPM can be sent to info@acot.ca.
Practice Query Webinars are Live
Do you have a practice query? You may be able to find the guidance you need by checking out the latest addition to the Practice Resources page on the ACOT website: a new webinar series on the five most common themes addressed in practice queries. They include Conflict of Interest, Cross Jurisdictional Practice, Informed Consent, Private Practice, and Supervision.
While they may not answer all your questions, we hope the webinar series will make the legislative and regulatory information more readily approachable and provide direction to the documents (also on the Practice Resources page) that would be helpful in guiding your decision making. Of course, you can still call or email for clarification or support. We’re happy to help.