Hello everyone, As we head into autumn, and many of you return to familiar classrooms and offices in a whole new way, we wanted to take a moment to wish educators and students all the best. As education programs continue adapting to the changes brought by COVID-19, do not hesitate to contact CMTCA staff for support as you navigate new teaching methods and environments. I would like to personally congratulate the massage therapy programs at Algonquin, Centennial, and Langara Colleges who have achieved Preliminary Accreditation this summer, despite all of the other challenges they were facing. Our team continues to value our regular collaborative discussions with accreditation organizations from other professions (as a member of the Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada) and with all of our stakeholders. Please continue reaching out to myself or my staff with your questions and ideas. We appreciate the opportunity to learn from these conversations, and to support our stakeholders however we can. I sincerely hope that our accreditation standards, resources, and staff members can provide guidance and support as you work to provide high quality massage therapy education during unprecedented times. With thanks, Kathrina Loeffler Executive Director, CMTCA
Welcome to our September 2020 issue!
W
e have had a productive summer! Keep reading for more information including:
Congratulations to the programs who were granted Preliminary Accreditation!
Read the recently released CMTCA Annual Report 2019
New CMTCAu learning modules:
Developing an Ethics Framework (available now)
Quality Improvement in Massage Therapy Education Programs (coming to CMTCAu this Fall)
Photo credit: D. Cook, unsplash.com
Congrats to ... The CMTCA board and staff extend sincere congratulations to the following programs that were recently granted Preliminary Accreditation: Granted Preliminary Accreditation
Algonquin College - Massage Therapy Program (Ottawa, ON)
Centennial College - Massage Therapy Program (Toronto, ON)
Langara College - Massage Therapy Program (Vancouver, BC)
We salute your hard work and your commitment to continuous quality improvement. We know this achievement will help you provide the best learning environment for your students and contribute to their becoming competent, safe and effective massage therapists.
"I do believe the CMTCA has created many positive changes for the landscape of massage therapy education in Canada... in the face of many challenges and with grace."
Dawn Sharman CMTCA Surveyor
Photo credit Greg Shield, unsplash.com
CMTCA Annual Report We invite you to read our Annual Report which includes an overview of CMTCA's accreditation activities and finances for 2019.
News!
CMTCA welcomes new Project Specialist
CMTCA warmly welcomes accreditation expert Joan Fernandez to our team. Joan is a Project Specialist working with CMTCA to support programs during their accreditation cycle.
Joan is a Registered Nurse with a varied background including clinical work in the public health, long-term care and ambulatory care sectors. Her experience and expertise includes Patient Safety, Quality Improvement and Accreditation.
Q&A: Questions from educators
Question 1: We are struggling to understand what we need to do to meet the criteria in Standard 7.0 Quality Improvement. Our program has a quality improvement culture, but we are not sure how to show that we are compliant with this accreditation standard? CMTCA has noticed that some programs struggle with the criteria in Standard 7, despite the fact that most have both formal or informal quality improvement initiatives in place. To support education programs in becoming more skilled in Quality Improvement, CMTCA is developing an online CMTCAu learning module called Quality Improvement in Massage Therapy Education Programs. This resource will be available to programs this Fall. Quality improvement and quality assurance are at the heart of CMTCA's accreditation process and values. We love to talk about Quality Improvement, and would be happy to partner with you and share our expertise. Don't hesitate to contact us with your specific questions as they arise.
You may wish to reference the CMTCA Accreditation Standards
Question 2: We need to submit an Ethics framework for Criterion 5.7 along with evidence of how it is being used in our program. How do we learn more about what this means?
You are not alone in having this question, and we are delighted to point you to our new training resource Developing an Ethics Framework on our online learning platform for educators, CMTCAu.
Your turn. What’s new with you?
Do you have an innovative idea for massage therapy education during these trying times? Do you have a question that you would like CMTCA to address?
Send us your comments or questions and we will (with your permission) share your ideas and our answers in future issues. Or follow us and share your thoughts on Twitter.