Importance of registered kinesiologists

I read with great interest and appreciation the excellent article by Drs Jattan and Kvern in the December issue of Canadian Family Physician.¹ In Ontario, kinesiologists have been regulated health practitioners under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 since 2013, when the College of Kinesiologists of Ontario was proclaimed as the body responsible for the governance of the profession of kinesiology in Ontario. The scope of practice for kinesiologists is defined in the Kinesiology Act, 2007 as “the assessment of human movement and performance and its rehabilitation and management to maintain, rehabilitate or enhance movement and performance.”²

Among the various groups of practitioners who are engaged in prescribing and guiding exercise programs, only registered kinesiologists are legally required to meet professional standards on a continual basis, engage in ongoing professional development, and meet entry-level requirements defined in legislation.

Ontario health regulators like the College of Kinesiologists of Ontario exist to protect the public. The College of Kinesiologists of Ontario sets and enforces standards of practice so that patients can receive safe, ethical, and competent health care from qualified health care professionals. With close to 3000 registered kinesiologists across Ontario, there are very few communities without services. The College of Kinesiologists of Ontario website carries a register of all kinesiologists in Ontario (www.coko.ca). In other provinces, kinesiology is not a regulated profession; however, kinesiologists might be found through the Canadian Kinesiology Alliance website (https://www.cka.ca/en).

Thank you for publishing an article promoting the integration of competent exercise specialists into health care teams. Registered kinesiologists currently work with many health care teams across Ontario, both in clinics and in hospitals. Some registered kinesiologists are also educators in public health or are sole practitioners. They work in various facilities and also in people’s homes.

Exercise is Medicine Canada is an excellent promotional program³ but it is not a substitute for the protection and assurance of competence achieved through regulation. As your members evaluate the needs of their patients, it is hoped that they will refer them to practitioners who are regulated health professionals committed to public protection and safe, competent health care.

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