Becoming a Regulated Health Profession in Alberta

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Why does the Alberta Kinesiology Association want kinesiologists to become a regulated health profession?

The primary reason is public protection.

Kinesiologists provide services involving assessment, exercise prescription, rehabilitation, chronic disease management, injury prevention, return-to-work programs and other interventions that can affect a person's health and physical function. The AKA estimates that more than 500 kinesiologists currently support Albertans across areas including prevention, rehabilitation, chronic disease management, return to work and performance. 

Yet kinesiology is currently an unregulated occupation in Alberta. Registration or certification with organizations such as the AKA is voluntary. 

Regulation would establish consistent, legally enforceable requirements for education, competence, professional conduct and accountability. It would also give patients a formal regulatory mechanism for addressing concerns about the competence or conduct of a regulated practitioner.

The case for regulation is therefore fundamentally:

Patient safety → consistent standards → professional accountability → public confidence.

 

What does it mean to become a regulated health profession under Alberta's HPA?

Alberta's HPA provides the legislative framework for regulating health professions. The purpose of regulating a profession is to protect the public from injury or harm associated with incompetent or unethical health services. 

If kinesiology becomes regulated, qualified practitioners would be registered with a regulatory college and would have to meet established requirements governing matters such as entry to practice, competence, professional conduct, continuing competence and use of protected titles.

The regulator would also have statutory authority to receive and investigate complaints and take disciplinary or remedial action where appropriate.

The major difference is enforceability. The AKA currently establishes substantial professional requirements for its members, but membership is voluntary. Regulation would establish a statutory system of accountability.

 

Aren't kinesiologists already regulated by the AKA?

No.

The AKA has established many of the components associated with a mature profession, including a defined scope of practice, professional standards, code of ethics and core competency profile. Professional membership also has education and practical-experience requirements. 

However, the AKA is a professional association, not a regulatory college established under the HPA. Membership is voluntary, and Alberta currently identifies kinesiology as an unregulated occupation. 

This distinction is central to the case for regulation: high voluntary standards are valuable, but they cannot provide the same province-wide public protection as statutory regulation.

 

Would the AKA become the regulatory college?

Not necessarily-and creating a standalone kinesiology college does not need to be the objective.

Alberta currently has both single-profession and multi-profession regulatory colleges. 

The AKA's objective should therefore be to secure an appropriate regulatory home for kinesiology, rather than assuming a new College of Kinesiologists of Alberta must be created.

An existing multi-profession regulatory structure could potentially offer advantages such as established registration systems, complaints and discipline infrastructure, continuing competence processes and lower administrative costs.

The ultimate model would need to be determined with the Government of Alberta.

 

What would happen to the AKA after kinesiologists become regulated?

The AKA could continue as the professional association representing kinesiologists.

The two organizations would have fundamentally different purposes:

Regulatory college → protects the public.

AKA → represents and advances the profession.

The AKA could continue providing advocacy, professional development, networking, workforce initiatives, government relations and other member services.

This separation is consistent with Alberta's regulatory framework. The province explicitly distinguishes regulatory colleges, which protect the public, from voluntary professional associations, which promote and represent the interests of professionals.

 

What would regulation mean for me as a practising kinesiologist?

A regulated kinesiologist would likely have to register with the designated regulatory college and obtain and maintain a practice permit.

Requirements could include:

• meeting approved education and entry-to-practice requirements; 

• demonstrating required competencies; 

• paying an annual registration/practice permit fee; 

• maintaining professional liability insurance where required; 

• meeting continuing competence requirements; 

• complying with standards of practice and ethical requirements; and 

• being accountable through formal complaints and disciplinary processes. 

The AKA already requires Professional Kinesiologist members to hold a four-year Canadian or equivalent degree in kinesiology or a related field, satisfy specified course or professional-development requirements, and demonstrate at least 300 practical hours. 

Consequently, many AKA members already meet substantial professional requirements. Regulation would shift these expectations from a voluntary association framework to a statutory regulatory framework.

 

Would regulation change what kinesiologists are allowed to do?

Not automatically.

Alberta uses non-exclusive, overlapping scopes of practice. No regulated profession automatically owns a particular skill or health service simply because it is regulated. Different professions may provide overlapping services. 

An important part of the regulation process will therefore be defining a scope of practice that accurately reflects contemporary kinesiology, including areas such as assessment, therapeutic exercise, functional rehabilitation, chronic disease management, ergonomics, injury prevention and return-to-work services.

The objective should not be to artificially expand kinesiology's scope. It should be to ensure that the full scope of competent contemporary kinesiology practice is appropriately recognized within Alberta's regulatory framework.

 

Would regulated kinesiologists be allowed to perform restricted activities?

Regulation would not automatically give kinesiologists restricted activities.

Alberta designates certain higher-risk health services as restricted activities. A regulated profession must be specifically authorized to perform particular restricted activities, and practitioners must possess the necessary education, skills and competence. More than one regulated profession can be authorized to perform the same restricted activity. 

As part of its application, the AKA should identify any restricted activities that kinesiologists legitimately require in contemporary practice and provide evidence demonstrating:

clinical need + practitioner competence + patient benefit + appropriate safeguards.

The argument should not be that regulated status entitles the profession to additional clinical authorities. Each requested authority should be justified on public-interest and patient-care grounds.

 

What happens to people who are already working as kinesiologists when regulation takes effect?

This will be one of the most important issues to address during development of the regulatory framework.

Entry-to-practice requirements would ultimately be established through the regulatory process. Alberta's HPA framework allows registration requirements to consider prescribed education and experience as well as equivalent qualifications. 

The AKA should advocate for a fair and transparent transition pathway for existing practitioners who can demonstrate appropriate education, experience, competence and professional standing.

That does not necessarily mean everyone currently using the title "kinesiologist" would automatically become registered.

The appropriate principle is:

Protect the public + recognize competent existing practitioners + avoid unnecessary workforce disruption.

The AKA should therefore be cautious about promising automatic "grandfathering" until the eventual transition requirements are established.

 

Why should kinesiologists support regulation if the current AKA system is already working?

Because the question is not whether the AKA has established strong professional standards. It has.

The issue is that those standards principally apply to practitioners who voluntarily choose to become AKA members. Alberta currently has no provincial legislation regulating kinesiology as a health profession. 

Regulation would establish a consistent statutory framework for qualified practitioners using protected professional titles, including entry-to-practice standards, continuing competence, professional accountability and complaints and discipline.

It could also provide greater clarity for patients, employers and other health professionals about the qualifications and accountability associated with a regulated kinesiologist.