IFOMPT route to membership document

THE ROUTE TO MEMBERSHIP

Updated 2008 (Initial draft, 2004)

1. A Registered Interest Group’s (RIG) Curriculum is evaluated by the Standards Committee for approval.

2. The other criteria for Member Organisation (MO) status of IFOMT are evaluated:
• A letter from the National Physiotherapy Association, which is a Member of WCPT, stating all members of the group are financial members of the Parent Body.
• A letter from the National Physiotherapy Association, which is a Member of WCPT, recognising the organisation concerned as the organisation representing Orthopaedic Manipulative Therapy within IFOMT.
• Provision of a Code of Conduct.
• Evidence that all members agree to abide by the Constitution and Bylaws of this Federation.
• The number of members in the Orthopaedic Manipulative Therapy Organisation and the names and addresses of the Office Bearers
3. Once satisfied that all requirements are met, the Standards Committee makes its recommendation for approval to the Executive Committee. If the Executive Committee agrees with the Standards Committee’s recommendation, a vote is proposed to the Member Organisations.

4. The RIG is voted in as a full MO by a 2/3 majority of the existing MOs.

5. Any other group within an MO country may register as a RIG. Another group may also submit its curriculum to the Standards Committee for approval. The new group must also fulfil the other criteria, in that they must be members of the Parent Body etc, but obviously they are not the spokespersons on Manual Therapy.

6. When a situation exists of more than one group within a country that fulfil the requirements of IFOMT membership, it is the obligation of the existing MO to organise a meeting of the two (or more) groups and form an Umbrella group that is representative of all groups. It is an internal issue for said country as to how this is organised and what it will be called. Failure to do so could lead to expulsion of the existing MO from IFOMT. Failure of either group to collaborate could lead to expulsion from IFOMT.

7. It is preferable however for the new group (the RIG which is applying for full membership into IFOMT) to approach the existing MO in the first instance to seek collaboration and dialogue in advance of their submission for MO status. If standards are equivalent, an MO could accept a new programme leading to membership. The standards and quality will then be evaluated through the national and international monitoring processes.

8. There can be challenges that arise from these processes. Some existing MOs have a standard that is above that of the IFOMT requirements, and may insist that the new group develop their standards further to comply with membership requirements. This is only necessary if it is proposed to have just one group. The Umbrella Group can in practice be less formal than this and each can run as a separate group, with a Joint Executive for IFOMT matters. Currently, this is the situation in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Austria.

9. To avoid future potential challenges, all RIGs seeking MO status in a country with no existing MO need to provide a plan of how they would assess other programmes in that country that wish to be recognised as meeting IFOMT standards in the future, or how they would enable formation of an umbrella organisation as part of their submission.




IFOMT Standards Committee
October 2008