college connection
college connection
QUALITY PRACTICE NEWS
Council, staff extend best wishes
to deputy registrar in new role
The College extends best wishes to Dr.
Glenn Pettifer as he leaves the College of
Veterinarians of Ontario and joins the College
of Denturists of Ontario as Registrar.
The College appreciates Dr. Pettifer’s
contribution over the past three years and
wishes him continued success in his new role.
College moves
towards agile
model for
accreditation
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Dr. Pettifer joined the College in 2012 as
Senior Partner, Quality Practice. During his
tenure, he also served as Deputy Registrar.
Other elements of facility accreditation that
were discussed by the AMTF included: the
impact of accreditation cycle length on facility
accreditation awareness, the role of a selfassessment of accreditation requirements by
the facility director on an annual basis; the
role and qualifications of facility accreditation
inspectors; and the role of technology in the
facility accreditation inspection process.
Dr. Pettifer provided leadership in shaping the
Quality Practice program and also contributed
to the enhancement of the College’s policy
documents. His contributions include
leading the early development of the Peer
Advisory Program, facilitating the work of the
Accreditation Models Task Force, expanding
the College’s on-line learning modules and
supporting the work of the Quality Assurance
Committee.
Dr. Pettifer also served as a resource for
veterinarians who had questions surrounding
legislation and related practice expectations.
A growing number of veterinarians and the
public now make use of the College’s Practice
Advisory service.
PEER ADVISORY PROGRAM
All of these are important components of a
robust facility accreditation process and are
being considered by Council as it reviews the
report and recommendations of the AMTF.
Dr. Glenn Pettifer
Members of the veterinary profession and
the public will be consulted on the proposed
model in the spring of 2016. As always, the
Council welcomes your feedback as it seeks
to establish a facility accreditation process
that is cost-effective, sustainable, efficient and
agile.
new Code of Ethics reflects aspirations, expectations
At its December Council meeting, Council
unanimously adopted an inaugural Code
of E thics for the veterinary profession in
Ontario. This is a significant document for both
veterinarians and the public.
As one of its objects or duties outlined in
the Veterinarians Act, the College has the
authority “To establish, maintain and develop
standards of professional ethics among its
members.” The Code of Ethics serves as a
beacon, stating the collective core values of
the profession.
This first version was crafted from the direct
input of veterinarians working in the field. It
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was what veterinarians told the College that
they aspired to everyday in practice and what
they believed their clients and patients expect.
The Code of Ethics is an official document of
the College and is to be considered alongside
professional practice standards in interpreting
the over-arching standard of practice of the
profession.
Find the new Code of Ethics on the
College’s website at
www.cvo.org/Code-of-Ethics
Peer Advisory Program in development
New program supports delivery of quality care
The primary goal of the new Peer Advisory
Program is to provide a positive learning
experience and support for veterinarians
as they provide care in a manner that is
consistent with current practice standards
and in the best interest of the clients and
animals they serve.
Peer Advisory Program
This past summer, a group of nine
veterinarians, whose professional work spans
a wide range of practice activities, met to
develop the framework for the College’s new
Peer Advisory Program. The activities over
two days included small and large group
discussions that were designed to identify the
process and discussion framework that will be
used during the various components of the
Peer-Practitioner interaction.
Specific Program Objectives
The objectives of the Peer Advisory Program:
• To support a veterinarian’s performance in
relation to their scope of practice;
• To provide a positive educational
experience for the veterinarian through
a two-way conversation with a Practice
Advisor;
• To be applicable in all areas of practice;
• To be feasible in cost and time;
• To be acceptable and useful for the
profession; and
• To provide veterinarians who participate
in the process with feedback that will
be useful to them in their professional
activities.
Program as a Process
The Peer Advisory Program is a process in
which a trained Peer Advisor will work with a
member to provide an opportunity to discuss
elements of member’s practice.
The intent of the program is to provide an
educational experience for veterinarians
that assists them with the delivery of quality
care and service inclusive of approaches
to managing known risk areas, adherence
to Professional Practice Standards and the
regulatory framework, and approaches to
continuing professional development.
Participation in the program will be voluntary
and will be considered a continuing
professional development activity that can be
reported as a CPD credit.
The details of the framework for the various
sections of the Peer Advisory Program are
currently being finalized. The tools used in
the discussion will include a brief medical
records review; a discussion of continuing
professional development activities and
strategies; a discussion of approaches to
clinical care that includes attention to risk
areas; Professional Practice Standards and
the regulatory framework using individual
medical records as a jumping off point for
the discussion; and a discussion centered
around non-technical skills (communication
strategies, team management, approaches to
conflict resolution).
While a face-to-face interaction is always
preferable, the administrative and travel costs
associated with administering the program
in this manner suggest the need to engage
current technology (Skype, Go-To Meetings,
Facetime) in a manner that retains the
benefits of the Peer Advisory Program in an
economically feasible manner.
In addition, while the primary intent of the
program is to provide veterinarians with
the opportunity to discuss these areas with
a trained Peer Advisor, once developed,
the framework will also be available to any
member who wishes to engage in a process
of independent self-assessment and
reflection on these elements.
With this framework established, the next
steps in the evolution of the Peer Advisory
Program will be to finalize the details of the
proposed process, develop the associated
documentation and identify the success
indicators of the program. In parallel with
these activities will be the identification and
training of veterinarians who wish to serve
as Peer Advisors. Once all of these elements
are in place, members of the profession
will be asked to participate as the program
is pilot tested prior to finalization and
implementation.
The College intends to pilot the program
in 2016. This is an exciting initiative for the
College, Council, the Quality Assurance
Committee and the profession.
Winter 2016
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