Third Parties

The person acting as a Third Party must be a registered occupational therapist, with a current practising certificate and with no condition on their own scope of practice. They must be in a position to be able to attest, to the best of their knowledge, to the practitioner’s fitness and competence to practise.

 

The practitioner is responsible for providing sufficient information to satisfy his or her Third Party that he or she is using the CCFR to demonstrate reflective practice and maintain competence relevant to his or her role/s, level of experience and responsibility.  Both the practitioner and the Third Party are professionally bound to make true and accurate attestations.

 

The Third Party reviews the practitioner's self-assessments, objectives and activities (both current and completed), and critical reflections, and assesses whether these are appropriate for that practitioner to maintain their competence given their current position and level of experience. They should also check that the practitioner is achieving a reasonable level of objectives per year. The Third Party discusses the CCFR with the practitioner and seeks any explanation they require.

 

Recertification is not an annual performance appraisal and there is no requirement for the practitioner to finish objectives and activities before the Third Party completes their attestation. All that is required is that there is one current objective in each of the seven competency areas and that the Third Party has enough information about what has been achieved, what is intended, and any major changes affecting the practitioner’s practice (e.g. job change, maternity leave) to be able to attest that the completed and current objectives are appropriate for a practitioner of that experience level and position to maintain their competency.

 

The Third Party must also attest whether or not they are aware of any issues relating to the practitioner’s competence, conduct or fitness to practice that may impact on their practice.