In the College of Chiropractors of Alberta’s fourth webinar, the “CCOA’s Role as the Regulator for the Chiropractic Profession”, presented by CEO, Linda Sahli, and Council chair, Dr. Jason Hollingsworth, the role of the College to serve the public interest through regulation, and ensure safe, competent, and ethical care is discussed, as well as how the Council supports this role with professional governance to assure accountability.
The continuum of assurance
CEO Linda Sahli began her presentation with a simple question – Why are professions regulated? the concept of the Continuum of Assurance, she explained that:
- The public must be assured they are being protected from risk of harm from a professional.
- If the professional were to be unsafe, incompetent or unethical, that risk of harm increases. As that risk of harm increases, so does the public expectation for rigour and public oversight around that profession.
- Since chiropractors have some of the highest risk of harm, they require some of the most regulation to ensure public trust in the profession.
- This is a privilege granted to the profession, as more regulation provides greater public trust.
Professional regulation - A seat at the table
What are the benefits of regulation to the practitioners themselves? As Linda Sahli explains, “think for a moment about what it would be like if your profession wasn't regulated. You wouldn't have the authority to perform restricted activities that are integral to your services. As well, anyone without any training could open up shop and call themselves a chiropractor without regulatory oversight.”
The College of Chiropractors of Alberta is a regulatory body with its primary purpose being to serve and protect the public interest. It accomplishes this mandate through legislation, giving it the authoritative powers to ensure that public trust. In Alberta, the privileges of the profession are: a restricted title; the authority to perform restricted activities; and a seat at the table in the regulation of your profession. No one can simply decide to start up a practice and use the title of chiropractor – its restricted use through regulation increases public trust in the profession.
The CCOA and Council
The profession is given this privilege of self-regulation through the Health Professions Act and the CCOA is governed by a Council of five chiropractors and five public members appointed by the Government of Alberta. This Council works closely with the College’s CEO to review, discuss and approve standards of practice, codes of ethics, bylaws, strategic plans and budgets, while marrying the perspectives of the profession, government and public interest. They also conduct environment scanning, risk identification and mitigation, as well as the appeal body for registration reviews and discipline decisions.
Resources and Documents