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Medical Laboratory Technologists Registration Regulations made under subsection 22(2) of the
Medical Laboratory Technology Act
S.N.S. 2000, c. 8
O.I.C. 2003-404 (September 26, 2003, effective January 1, 2004), N.S. Reg. 168/2003
Citation
1 These regulations may be cited as the Medical Laboratory Technologists Registration Regulations.Definitions
2 (1) In these regulations,(a) "Act" means the Medical Laboratory Technology Act;
(b) "annual renewal form" means the form prescribed in the Board Regulations to be completed by a member applying to renew their registration and licence pursuant to the Act;
(c) "Board Regulations" means the regulations made by the Board pursuant to subsection 22(1) of the Act;
(d) "CSMLS" means the Canadian Society of Medical Laboratory Science or its successor;
(e) "expiry date" means the date prescribed in the Board Regulations upon which the registration and licence of a member of the College expires;
(f) "initial registration fee" means the initial registration fee prescribed in the Board Regulations;
(g) "initial registration form" means the form prescribed by the Board Regulations to be completed by an applicant for initial registration and licensing pursuant to the Act;
(h) "member" means a member of the College as defined in the Act;
(i) "non-practising" refers to the status of a member who is not currently engaged in the practice of medical laboratory technology in the Province and who fulfills the membership requirements of the Act and these regulations and who desires to maintain their licence;
(j) "practising" refers to the status of a member who engages in the practice of medical laboratory technology in the Province and who fulfills the membership requirements of the Act and these regulations;
(k) "registration fee" means the annual registration fee prescribed by the Board Regulations;
(l) "renewal date" means the date prescribed in the Board Regulations by which the registration and licence of a member must be renewed, which shall be at least 2 weeks prior to the applicable expiry date;
(m) "re-registration fee" means the fee prescribed by the Board Regulations to be paid by a person who applies to the College to be relicensed under Section 32 of the Act or re-instated under Section 17;
(n) "TeKnowledge.ns" means the continuing education program developed by the College for its members;
(o) "TeKnowledge.ns certificate" means a current certificate issued by the College upon successful completion by a member of at least 8 TeKnowledge.ns credits every 4 years.
(2) Words defined in the Act have the same meaning when used in these regulations.
Applying for initial registration
3 (1) An applicant for initial registration must complete an initial registration form and submit it to the Registrar together with the following:(a) a copy of the applicant’s birth certificate or another identification document in a form satisfactory to the Registrar;
(b) copies of all degrees or diplomas and certificates relating to medical laboratory technology, or a certification confirmation form from CSMLS;
(c) a curriculum vitae with a chronological listing of all previous education and employment relating to medical laboratory technology, including a description of all clinical and non-clinical activities;
(d) if employed, a job description signed by the applicant’s employer;
(e) if the applicant was previously licensed to practise medical laboratory technology in another jurisdiction, a letter of good standing from the licensing body of the jurisdiction or, if the licence from the other jurisdiction has expired, a letter from the jurisdiction confirming that the applicant has not been and is not currently the subject of any disciplinary proceedings in the jurisdiction;
(f) a declaration confirming
(i) the applicant’s good standing in all jurisdictions in which the applicant is currently licensed to practise medical laboratory technology and that neither the applicant’s professional conduct nor practice is under investigation in any other jurisdiction,
(ii) that the applicant has not been and is not currently the subject of any disciplinary proceedings in any jurisdiction, and
(iii) that the applicant has not been convicted of any criminal offence that would, in the opinion of the Registrar, reasonably be expected to have a negative impact on the applicant's practice of medical laboratory technology or the profession generally;
(g) proof of professional liability insurance in accordance with Section 20;
(h) written consent of the applicant to the release of information relevant to the application by such references as are requested by the Registrar; and
(i) payment of the initial registration fee.
(2) The Registrar must provide an initial registration form to an applicant upon request, and the Registrar must provide an applicant for initial registration with a copy of the Act and all regulations made under the Act upon request.
(3) An applicant for initial registration must
(a) be a Canadian citizen or satisfy the Registrar that the applicant is legally entitled to live and work in Canada;
(b) be competent in both written and oral English to the satisfaction of the Registrar or as determined by the Board;
(c) have successfully completed
(i) a baccalaureate degree program from a Canadian post-secondary educational institution in medical laboratory technology or a diploma program from a Canadian post-secondary educational institution in medical laboratory technology, and
(ii) the qualifying examinations prescribed by the Board.
(4) Despite clause 3(c), an applicant is eligible for initial registration if the applicant meets the requirements of clauses 3(a) and (b) and
(a) possesses the education or experience considered by the Credentials Committee to be equivalent to that which is required by clause 3(c); and
(b) has successfully completed the qualifying examinations prescribed by the Board.
Applicant may be required to have personal interview
4 An applicant for initial registration or renewal of registration may be required by the Registrar, the Credentials Committee or the Board to have a personal interview with the Registrar, the Credentials Committee or the Board.Applicant must provide information to Board
5 An applicant for initial registration or renewal of registration must comply with any request from the Board for information for the purpose of clause 24(1)(c) of the Act to satisfy the Board that the applicant possesses the required qualifications.Status recorded in Register
6 (1) The status of a member must be recorded in the Register as "practising", "non- practising" or "retired".(2) If the status of a member changes from practising to non-practising or from non- practising to practising, or if a member has retired, the member must notify the Registrar in writing within 7 days of their change in status.
Conditions on licence
7 The Board, the Credentials Committee or the Registrar may impose such reasonable limitations or qualifications on a member’s licence as it considers appropriate, including, but not limited to, practice limitations or temporary licence or supervisory requirements.Practice allowed only within scope of practice
8 In addition to any conditions imposed under Section 7, it shall be a term, condition and limitation of every registration and licence that the member practise only within the scope of practice in which the member is educated.Registration as a temporary member
9 (1) An applicant who otherwise meets the requirements for registration contained in the Act and the regulations under the Act may be registered as a temporary member and be issued a temporary licence if(a) the applicant has
(i) completed an approved medical laboratory technology program within 3 months of the date of submission of the applicant’s initial registration form, and
(ii) written, or satisfied the Registrar that the applicant is going to write, the examinations prescribed by the Board; or
(b) the applicant provides written confirmation that a requirement for registration is temporarily unavailable but will be obtained and submitted to the Registrar within a period of time that the Registrar considers reasonable, and the Registrar is able to verify the required information through some other acceptable means.
(2) A temporary member is permitted to practise medical laboratory technology only under the supervision of a member who is not a temporary member.
(3) A temporary member is not entitled to vote at meetings of the College, be nominated for election to the Board, or be appointed to any Committee of the Board.
(4) A temporary licence is limited to a 12-month term and may be renewed only with the approval of Credentials Committee.
Supervised practice
10 (1) Supervised practice is required for(a) a temporary member, in accordance with subsection 9(2);
(b) a person who does not meet the continuing competency requirements in Section 15; and
(c) a person whose licence or registration has been suspended or revoked.
(2) In addition to the persons named in subsection (1), the Board may require any other applicant or member to undergo a period of supervised practice in a medical laboratory technology setting approved by the Board and to demonstrate competence to practice.
(3) A supervisor must continually monitor the performance of a person being supervised and must always be readily accessible in case of difficulty or needed intervention, and must use constant observation until a judgment about competence is made.
Non-members carrying out tasks
11 For the purposes of clause 42(s) of the Act, a person that is not a member may carry out tasks constituting part of the practice of medical laboratory technology as long as(a) the tasks involve only
(i) data entry and procurement/receipt,
(ii) specimen processing,
(iii) performance of pre-analytical procedures on specimens from a variety of sources that do not involve either the analysis or the use of scientific knowledge as the basis for the interpretation, communication and documentation of confidential data, or
(iv) preparation of reagents for medical laboratory testing;
(b) the person follows quality assurance policies and procedures as opposed to total quality management, all of which are in accordance with established laboratory standards and fall within the competencies for medical laboratory assistants as prescribed by CSMLS; and
(c) the tasks are carried out while the person is supporting and assisting a member and is under the supervision and control of a member.
Expiry and renewal of registration and licence
12 (1) The registration and licence of a member expires each year on the applicable expiry date.(2) A member must be advised of the applicable expiry date and the applicable renewal date applicable to that member's registration and licence at the time of initial registration and licensing and upon each annual renewal of their registration and licence.
Applying for renewal of registration
13 To renew the member’s registration, a member must submit a completed annual renewal form to the Registrar on or before the applicable renewal date together with(a) proof of professional liability insurance coverage in accordance with Section 20;
(b) a declaration indicating the number of TeKnowledge.ns credits the member has completed during the periods specified on the annual renewal form;
(c) the declaration required by clause 3(1)(f); and
(d) payment of the registration fee.
Receipt of annual renewal form
14 (1) An annual renewal form and any documents or fees required to accompany the annual renewal form are deemed to be received by the Registrar on the date that they are actually received by the Registrar.(2) The Registrar must record the date that an annual renewal form and accompanying documents are received.
Continuing competency requirements
15 (1) An applicant for renewal of registration as a practising member must hold a TeKnowledge.ns certificate.(2) Despite subsection (1), a practising member who is registered in accordance with subsection 78(1) of the Act and who, on the date of the coming into force of the Act, did not meet the requirements of clause 3(3)(c) has 4 years from the date of their initial registration to obtain a TeKnowledge.ns certificate as long as the practising member maintains continuous membership throughout the 4-year period.
(3) A practising member who fails to comply with subsection (1) or (2) is required to successfully complete 500 hours of supervised practice of medical laboratory technology or a refresher course approved by the Board.
Failure to renew registration
16 (1) The licence of a member who fails to submit a completed annual renewal form and comply with clauses 13(a) to (c) on or before the expiry date of the licence must be suspended.(2) Suspension of a licence under subsection 31(2) of the Act or under subsection 16(1) is effective on the day immediately following the current licence’s expiry date.
(3) The Registrar must immediately notify, in writing, any person whose licence is suspended pursuant to subsection 16(1).
Re-instatement
17 (1) A member whose licence is suspended under subsection 16(1) may be re-instated by the Registrar when the Registrar is satisfied that the member has filed the annual renewal form and complied with clauses 13(a) to (c), and the member has paid the re-registration fee.(2) Re-instatement of a member’s licence pursuant to this Section is effective when the Registrar issues a notice of re-instatement.
Prescribed period of absence from Province
18 For the purposes of subsection 37(1) of the Act, the prescribed period is 2 weeks.Public notice of suspension or revocation
19 If a member's licence or registration is suspended or revoked, the Registrar must as soon as practicable(a) publish a notice of the suspension or revocation at least once in a newspaper with circulation throughout the Province;
(b) notify licensing authorities in other Canadian jurisdictions; and
(c) notify CSMLS.
Minimum professional liability insurance
20 (1) A practising member must be covered by a policy of professional liability insurance that is independent of any insurance coverage maintained by the practising member’s employer and that at all times provides a minimum of(a) $2 000 000.00 coverage per occurrence; and
(b) $2 000 000.00 coverage per policy year.
(2) No practising member is permitted to engage in the practice of medical laboratory technology unless they are insured in accordance with this Section.
Members in good standing
21 For the purposes of subsection 9(2), subsection 14(3) and clause 15(b) of the Act, a member ceases to be a member in good standing of the College if(a) the registration and licence of that member is suspended or revoked;
(b) the member is convicted of an offence pursuant to the Criminal Code (Canada) or the Narcotics Control Act (Canada);
(c) the member fails to demonstrate good moral character; or
(d) the member breaches confidentiality with respect to the confidential affairs of the Board.
Designated titles permitted
22 A practising member is permitted to use only the title "Medical Laboratory Technologist" or "M.L.T." or "MLT" and may use in association with the member's name the name of any academic degree, diploma or certificate held by the member and approved by the Board for such use.Professional standards
23 A practising member must exercise generally accepted standards of practice and procedures in the performance of professional services.