Updated College Information
Formation of the College of Medical Radiation Technologists General Information
Background
The last major revisions to the Medical Radiation Technologists Act were done in 1990. Over the last two decades there have been many changes in the field of self-regulation of professions, in the profession of medical radiation technology, and many changes generally in the development of the legal principles applicable to the professions. The current Medical Radiation Technologists Act does not reflect many of these changes and also does not reflect many “best practices” that have been adopted by other self-regulating professions, which have now been largely accepted as the standard for regulation of professions by the courts. The members of the medical radiation technology profession itself have recognized the need for change and have embarked on a detailed process to examine the changes required to its governing documents.
Once the Act and Regulations have been appropriately vetted by the members of the NSAMRT, the documents will be forwarded to the Office of the Legislative Counsel for review and approval. The proposed Act and Regulations will also be forwarded for comment to external stakeholders who may be impacted by or interested in this legislation. Such stakeholders include the three political parties, other relevant health professions, employers, unions and others. Feedback received from members and stakeholders will then be incorporated into the version of the Act that will hopefully be ready for introduction in the Legislature in the Spring of 2010. The Act must be passed by the Legislature before the Regulations can be approved and brought into effect. However, both the Act and the Regulations have been worked on concurrently by the Committee since one very much complements the other, and the two must be read together as a package.
The present “governance” documents for the NSAMRT consists of the Act (the “current Act”), the current By-Laws, and the national Code of Ethics. The Act requires approval of government; the current By-Laws require approval by Cabinet; and the adoption of a Code of Ethics requires approval of the membership.
Under the proposed changes, the revised Act will be the principal document to govern the profession of medical radiation technology. It will require approval of government before it comes into effect.
In addition to the Act and Regulations, we will also be preparing a set of By-Laws, which will require approval of the membership only, and the By-Laws will set out the internal operating procedures of the Association. Other information, such as Standards of Practice and a Code of Ethics, will become stand alone documents, approved by the membership.