Supervision Of Restricted Activities

This standard applies to supervision of restricted activities as defined in section 2 of Schedule 7.1 of the Government Organization Act. It does not imply any expectation or requirement for a regulated member of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta to supervise other regulated healthcare professionals performing restricted activities within their scope of practice, training and authorization by their regulatory college.

1. A regulated member may consent to supervising a person performing a restricted activity if the person is:
   1. another regulated healthcare professional;
   2. a clinical trainee undergoing training leading to certification in a regulated health profession and the regulated member has taken reasonable steps to confirm that the supervised person is a clinical trainee; or
   3. an unregulated healthcare provider.
2. A regulated member who supervises a person performing a restricted activity must:
   1. be personally:
      1. competent to perform the restricted activity;
      2. authorized to perform the restricted activity without supervision;
      3. satisfied with the knowledge, skill and judgment of the supervised person performing the restricted activity; and
      4. responsible for the restricted activity performed by the supervised person;
   2. ensure it is safe and appropriate for the supervised person to perform the restricted activity on the particular patient;
   3. obtain the patient’s informed consent for the restricted activity to be performed under supervision, unless consent is not possible because of emergency;
   4. provide a level of supervision commensurate with the skills and abilities of the person performing the restricted activity and the risk of harm to the patient;
   5. remain readily available for consultation during the performance of the restricted activity and for an appropriate follow-up period;
   6. have a quality assurance process in place to ensure the restricted activity is performed safely;
   7. ensure the person performing the restricted activity is clearly identified in the patient’s record; and
   8. ensure the equipment and resources used to perform the restricted activity are safe and appropriate.
3. A regulated member who supervises an unregulated healthcare provider performing a restricted activity must ensure:
   1. the restricted activity is performed only under a direct order from a physician in the context of an established physician-patient relationship;
   2. there is minimal additional risk to the patient due to the unregulated healthcare provider performing the restricted activity; and
   3. the restricted activity is performed according to an established protocol and does not require medical knowledge or expertise.
4. A regulated member must not supervise a person performing a restricted activity if that person:
   1. would be in violation of section 46 of the Health Professions Act regarding Mandatory Registration; or
   2. is registered as a regulated health professional in Alberta, but is not authorized or permitted by their profession’s regulatory college to perform that restricted activity.