OTTAWA, Ontario (PRWEB)
February 08, 2020
The Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) is urging the Ontario Government to reconsider its decision to shut down the Allied Health Professional Development Fund. The fund has helped allied health professionals in Ontario, including thousands of medical radiation technologists (MRTs) working across the province, to access essential continuing professional development opportunities.
The Ontario Association of Medical Radiation Sciences (OAMRS) led by Greg Toffner, CEO, has been working tirelessly to convince the Ontario Government to continue this important funding. The CAMRT fully supports the position taken by OAMRS. We urge the Ontario Government to collaborate with OAMRS and reconsider their decision to withdraw funding for this program for the good of all Ontarians.
Ontario’s Health Minister, Christine Elliott, claims that the government’s rationale for terminating the program is that the Ontario Government is now focusing as much funding as possible on “front line patient care”.
“Continuing professional development is by no means a luxury; it is essential to ensuring that healthcare professionals are up-to-date with new research, best practices, technological advances, safety protocols and other developments in their field of practice,” said Irving Gold, CAMRT’s CEO. “The importance of these educational offerings is reflected in the fact that CMRITO, the regulatory authority for Ontario’s MRTs with the mandate of protecting the public, requires 25 hours a year in order to maintain certification.”
“It is unclear to me how the Ontario government is defining front-line care, but MRTs do indeed provide front-line care to millions of Ontarians each year,” said Gailyne MacPherson, CAMRT President. “Removing funding for continuing education for a profession that operates in such a rapidly changing technological environment. This decision will ultimately undermine the government’s desire to focus on improved patient care.”
OAMRS is currently meeting with non-cabinet MPPs of the PC Caucus who are most likely to pressure the Minister to review the decision. Ten meetings have been scheduled to date.
About the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists
The Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) is the national professional association and certifying body for radiological, nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance imaging technologists and radiation therapists. With more than 12,000 members nationally and 3,000 members in the province of Ontario, the CAMRT is a strong advocate for quality patient care in medical imaging and radiation therapy.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Topham
Director, Advocacy and Communications
1-800-463-9729 ext/poste 230
ctopham@camrt.ca
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