Self-Assessment: Currency Hours

Maintaining continued professional competency goes beyond Continuing Education. The Registration Regulation mandates that registrants practise naturopathy for a minimum amount of time to maintain the necessary clinical competencies, knowledge, skill and judgment required for delivering safe, competent and ethical care.

Subsection 6.(1) of the Registration Regulation under the Naturopathy Act, 2007 sets out that every registrant in the General class is required to practice the profession for a minimum of 750 hours over each three-year period. Similarly, subsection 6.1(1) establishes that registrants in the emergency class[1], a class of registration that is only opened under specific circumstances, are required to practise the profession for a set number of hours over each 12 month period.

The intent of these provisions is to ensure that Ontarians receive the highest standard of naturopathic care from professionals who have maintained the necessary clinical acumen by being actively engaged in clinical practice.

An Inactive class of registration is available to registrants who are taking a break from naturopathic practice (e.g., a parental leave of absence) or practicing in a role related to naturopathy but no longer seeing patients. The Inactive class of registration allows registrants to work within the naturopathic profession, without providing patient care, and continue to use the ND title provided the qualifier “(Inactive)” directly follows it. Registrants in the Inactive class are exempt from currency hour requirements and Quality Assurance (QA) program obligations such as Continuing Education.

Additionally, registrants who work in a non-clinical role who need to maintain a General class certificate of registration for employment purposes can apply for a Non-Clinical Term, Condition, or Limitation (TCL)[2]. This allows them to stay in the General class without seeing patients, with conditions for removing the TCL if needed. They must still meet all General class requirements, including currency hours and the QA program, and use the qualifier ‘(Non-Clinical)’ after their professional title to indicate they cannot provide direct patient care.

___________________________
[1] An emergency class registrant is a registrant authorized to practice in Ontario who has met the registration requirements specified in section 5.1 of the Registration Regulation, allowing them to practice under specific, often temporary, circumstances to address urgent or emergency situations.

[2] Registrants with a non-clinical TCL on their certificate of registration are General class registrants who do not engage in direct patient care and are employed in non-clinical areas such as naturopathic education, research, regulatory work, or natural health product development. Registrants in this category apply to have a non-clinical TCL noted on their certificate of registration.

This self-assessment is designed to give you a clear understanding of the currency hour requirements and the College’s currency audit process, ensuring you stay on top of your professional obligations.

For more information on currency requirements, please visit the Currency Requirements webpage of the College’s website and review the Registration policy and Currency Fact Sheet.