POSITION
The CAMRT will actively advocate for degree as the entry-to-practice requirement, will continue to support education programs and provincial member associations who are seeking a transition to degree, and will continue to support those programs that have already moved to degree-granting status.

DEFINITION
The CAMRT supports the vision adopted by its membership in 1995 that a baccalaureate degree should be the credential required for entry-to-practice. However, graduates of all programs accredited by the Canadian Medical Association (degree and diploma) are eligible to write the national certification examination.

RATIONALE
Over the past few years (2000-2005), programs have been impacted by several restrictive occurrences preventing them from meeting the 2010 deadline, such as:

• Some provincial governments, and some regulatory bodies, have indicated that they will not endorse the degree as the minimum entry-to-practice standard.
• Some educational programs have indicated that they cannot change to establish a degree outcome.
• In November 2004, the Federal / Provincial / Territorial Conference of Deputy Ministers of Health, working with Health Canada and the Advisory Committee on Health Delivery and Human Resources, established a moratorium on “changes-to-practice credentials” affecting all health professions. When the moratorium was lifted in late 2004, a new national “assessment process” was introduced. Any organization proposing a credential change is expected to participate in this process.
• The new national “assessment process” requires a very significant investment of time and resources by a proponent organization. Furthermore, the outcome is uncertain since (a) Health Canada will convene its own “panel of experts” to undertake a confidential review of the assessment; and (b) provincial authorities are ultimately free to make an independent decision on the proposal.

As a result of the above events, the CAMRT has had to re-examine its strategy in particular within the framework of its two distinct roles, that of professional association and that of certification agency.

As a professional association, the CAMRT supports the profession and advocates for the highest standards that will serve the public better. Thus the CAMRT will continue to advocate for the degree as entry-to-practice credentials.

As a certification agency, the CAMRT cannot set entry-to-practice standards as this is the role of provincial governments, through its regulators. As such, the CAMRT must ensure that the certification exam is accessible to all students who graduate from CMA accredited programs.

Clearly, the CAMRT continues to support the vision adopted by its membership in 1995 that a degree credential should be required for entry-to-practice and will continue to advocate for degree as the entry-to-practice requirement. However, having a deadline did not serve a useful purpose in the current environment and it has been removed. Therefore, the CAMRT will allow on-going access to the national certification exam to all graduates of CMA accredited MRT programs (degree and diploma).

The CAMRT will actively advocate for the degree credential as the entry-to-practice requirement, will continue to support education programs and provincial member associations who are seeking to transition from diploma to a degree program and will continue to support those programs that have already moved to degree-granting status.

Approval Date: June 1995, Revised November 2006