The College would like to thank all registrants who responded to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) survey that was circulated from January 20th to February 26th, 2021. A total of 408 registrants responded which provided the College with valuable insight and learning about diversity, equity and inclusion in occupational therapy practice. We would like to thank you for your openness and for sharing your stories and diversity experiences with us. Your feedback has helped to inform several next steps.
Some of the feedback pertained to the College’s need for internal education and training and we are pleased to inform registrants that this is already underway. The College has consultants who are training our staff and reviewing a selection of our written materials. Other feedback pertained to lack of diversity in the profession and registrant’s desire for DEI training. This will be shared with the occupational therapy programs and associations.
In terms of practice resources, respondents are interested in Case Studies (70%), Webinars (64%), a PREP (61%) and a Practice Document (40%). Registrants would like to ensure we consult with experts in DEI and members of marginalized groups to inform the development of resources, and we completely agree. The College is pleased to report that the 2022 PREP will be based on the new competencies of practice, specifically the section on cultural sensitivity and safety. This will be a national project and several experts will be engaged in its development.
The College will also develop a document on DEI and some respondents asked about our process for this, especially considering the sensitive and important subject matter. Once the themes needed for the document are confirmed, these are approved, then we work with committees of occupational therapists and subject matter experts to build the content to support the themes. With a new document like this, a consultation with registrants and the public will be completed. The final document will be launched and education to support the information will be provided. Our goal is to always provide resources that will meet the needs of registrants while setting clear guidelines so the public can understand what to expect when receiving services from OTs in Ontario. Thank you again to those who completed the survey and provided both personal experiences and input.