Canadian healthcare is not delivered by a single national agency to provide patients and their families the services they require. It is supported by many organizations and professionals that span across both the federal and provincial levels of government. This is evidenced by the various roles of my peers in the MHST601 – Foundations of Health Systems in Canada course, which include professions of a Nurse, Physical Therapist, Dietician, Social Worker, Medical Administrative Assistant, Neurophysiology Technologist and Medical Laboratory Technologist. Moyo et al. (2016) identified that “personal and professional values of healthcare practitioners influence their clinical decisions. Understanding these values for individuals and across healthcare professions can help improve patient-centred decision-making by individual practitioners and interprofessional teams, respectively.” (Moyo et al., 2016)
Prior to our review of professionalism and professional identity, I believed that our professional and personal stories should be separate and distinct. Through our class discussions and literature reviews, my perspective is shifting, and I appreciate that the full story, or true professional identity should include a glimpse into all areas one is passionate about, which could include personal interests, family, hobbies as well as professional associations, expectations, and educational backgrounds. I agree with Ford et al. (2020) who stated that when healthcare professionals are “prepared to show and internalize the behaviors associated with their work, a greater quality of practice will be demonstrated by the practitioner, experienced by the patient, and observed by the profession.” (Ford et al., 2020)
In Ontario, our healthcare system is overseen by the provincial agency, Ontario Health. Ontario Health was “created by the Government of Ontario to connect and coordinate our province’s health care system in ways that have not been done before, to help ensure Ontarians receive the best possible care”. (Ontario Health, 2021) Ontario Health has also brought together several previously separated organizations that are instrumental in the provision of healthcare in our province, some of which include Cancer Care Ontario, eHealth Ontario, Ontario Telemedicine Network and Health Quality Ontario.
My professional role within Ontario healthcare is that of a Medical Laboratory Technologist (MLT), which is classified as a regulated profession under the Regulated Health Professions Act (1991) and the Medical Laboratory Technology Act. (1991) The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science describes MLTs as:
“an important part of the health care professional team. Using a variety of complex instruments, they analyze tissue samples, blood and other body fluids as a part of the diagnostic procedure. MLTs provide the results of these sophisticated tests to physicians, allowing them to make accurate diagnosis and if needed, appropriate treatment.” (CSMLS Medical Laboratory Technologist, n.d.)
In Ontario, to interpret and release results for diagnostic use, the MLT must be registered and in good standing with the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario (CMLTO). The role of the CMLTO is to “protect the public’s right to safe, competent, ethical health care by regulating the professionals who conduct lab tests across the province”. (About CMLTO, n.d.)
Laboratories in hospitals are publicly funded and are operated primarily through the base funding of the organization. To operate a laboratory, the organization must adhere to the requirements set out in the Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act. (1990) In order to maintain a laboratory license, the laboratory must participate in external quality assurance programs, such as those provided by the Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare and participate in peer assessments managed by Accreditation Canada – Diagnostics.
Although I have been an active member in my community and professional circles, I was surprised to find little of my life’s story has been captured on social media or broadly on the internet. Moving forward I would like to see my professional identity and social media presence reflect the values the I exhibit routinely. I would like my legacy to recall that I was: a process driven, system thinker; a compassionate, resourceful, and mindful leader; one who always put family first; a team member who worked hard so he could play hard; an all-around quality guy! My ePortfolio and social media presence will continue to grow as I progress towards the completion of the Master of Health Studies program at Athabasca University.
About CMLTO. (n.d.) Retrieved January 23, 2021 from http://cmlto.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1214&Itemid=68
CSMLS. (n.d.) Medical Laboratory Technologist. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from https://csmls.org/Medical-Laboratory-Professionals/About/Medical-Laboratory-Technologists-(MLT).aspx
Ford, C. R., Groccia, J. E., & Wilkins, E. B. (2020). Facilitating Professional Identity Development in Healthcare Education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 162, 57.
Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act. (1990). Revised Statutes of Ontario. 1990, 5, 835-850.
Medical Laboratory Technology Act. (1991). Revised Statutes of Ontario. 1991, C. 28.
Moyo, M., Goodyear-Smith, F. A., Weller, J., Robb, G., & Shulruf, B. (2016). Healthcare practitioners’ personal and professional values. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 2, 257.
Ontario Health – Our Team. (2021, January 18) Retrieved from https://www.ontariohealth.ca/our-story
Regulated Health Professions Act. (1991). Revised Statutes of Ontario. 1991, C. 18.
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