Episode 8 - Don Cherry and Beyond: When Your Comments Come Back to Haunt You

This episode was inspired by Don Cherry’s infamous comments on Hockey Night in Canada and the public and media reactions to those comments. Moyra McAllister, Physiotherapy Alberta’s Complaints Director, joins the podcast to talk about communication concerns and on-duty or off-duty conduct that can lead to patient complaints.

Like George Bernard Shaw said, “the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Communication is at the core of nearly every complaint that Physiotherapy Alberta receives.

Patients expect that communication with their physiotherapist will be respectful and professional. Physiotherapy Alberta and employers alike have expectations about what is or is not acceptable on-duty conduct. The expectations outlined in the Standards of Practice represent the minimum requirements, but employers can set the bar higher. That’s not to suggest that the Standards set the bar low, they are just the minimum expectations that all physiotherapists must meet. We start the episode by discussing those expectations.

But do those expectations apply when the physiotherapist is off-duty? Are physiotherapists ever really off-duty? In the latter half of the episode we address that topic and highlight interesting conduct cases where off-duty conduct led to complaints and sanctions against regulated professionals.

Want to read the Standard of Practice – Communication or the Code of Ethical Conduct for yourself? Check them out here:

• Standards of Practice – Communication https://www.physiotherapyalberta.ca/physiotherapists/what_you_need_to_know_to_practice_in_alberta/standards_of_practice/communication
• Code of Ethical Conduct https://www.physiotherapyalberta.ca/physiotherapists/what_you_need_to_know_to_practice_in_alberta/code_of_ethical_conduct

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