
Practice Review is a mandatory component of the Quality Assurance Program at the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario (CMLTO). The purpose of the Practice Review is to provide an objective assessment of a Registrant’s practice in relation to the Standards of Practice of the profession. Registrants are randomly selected or requested by the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) to complete the Practice Review.
The Practice Review consists of 30 multiple choice and true/false questions that directly assess a Registrant’s knowledge, skill, and judgement of the CMLTO Standards of Practice. The Practice Review administration follows the guidelines detailed in the Practice Review Blueprint. It is an open-book assessment that is completed and submitted online by a specific deadline date. Registrants are encouraged to reference the Professional Practice Learning Modules to prepare for the Practice Review. Each year questions are selected in alignment with the blueprint below.
If a registrant fails to meet the Practice Review assessment cut score on their first attempt, they are provided one additional attempt. The Practice Review is offered in French and English.
CMLTO Practice Review Blueprint
CMLTO Standard of Practice Category | Weighting | # of questions |
---|---|---|
Professional Conduct and Accountability | 25 – 30% | 8 – 10 |
Knowledge and Skill | 15 – 20% | 5 – 6 |
Application of Knowledge and Skill | 40 – 45% | 12 – 13 |
Quality Management | 10 – 15% | 3 – 4 |
Total | 100% | 30 |

Practice Review Sample Questions
For further information please reference CMLTO’s Practice Review process infographic.
- Follow the request of the mother because she is the parent and responsible for the care of her underage child.
- Follow the request of the daughter because she seems capable of making decisions on her own and there is no set age of consent.
- In an effort to maintain consent, Mary should contact the patient’s physician.
- Proceed with the venipuncture because the requisition itself is consent enough.
- Communicating with patients or their representatives about the diagnosis.
- Setting or casting a fracture of a bone or a dislocation of a joint.
- Weighing a patient.
- Prescribing a hearing aid.
- Alice should release the results to the lawyer immediately.
- Alice should tell the lawyer that the laboratory can only release information to the physician who ordered the tests and direct them to the physician.
- Alice should refuse to release the results.
- Alice should ask the lawyer to submit their request in writing and upon receipt of the request, release the results.
- Heidi should report what she has witnessed to the hospital and also file a report regarding Roger’s comments with the College of Nurses.
- Heidi does not have to do anything, after all the patient is unconscious and therefore not aware of what is being said.
- Heidi should confront Roger and tell him his behaviour is inappropriate.
- Heidi should not do anything as Roger often makes inappropriate comments.
- Ask for the opportunity to present her concerns to upper management and to point out that the lab staff are already trained to use the equipment and will need little orientation before testing can start. This would be a cost saver for the hospital.
- Ask for the opportunity to present her concerns to upper management and cite improved patient care as a reason to assign POC testing to the laboratory.
- Look at the training assignment as an opportunity to collaborate with nursing staff and to help them understand the role of the Medical Laboratory Technologist in patient care.
- Ask for the training to be assigned to another MLT, someone who needs the experience more than she does.
Answers:
- Option #3: In an effort to maintain consent, Mary should contact the patient’s physician.
- Option #3: Weighing a patient.
- Option #2: Alice should tell the lawyer that the laboratory can only release information to the physician who ordered the tests and direct him to the physician.
- Option #1: Heidi should report what she has witnessed to the hospital and also file a report regarding Roger’s comments with the College of Nurses.
- Option #3: Look at the training assignment as an opportunity to collaborate with nursing staff and to help them understand the role of the Medical Laboratory Technologist in patient care.
You will be required to submit a Practice Review under the following criteria:
- Practising registrants who have held practising certificates of registration for more than two (2) years will be randomly selected once in every ten-year cycle.
- All Practising registrants within their first two (2) years of CMLTO registration.
- A registrant who changes their class of registration from Non-Practising to Practising will complete the Practice Review within two (2) years of the change.
- A registrant suspended for non-payment of fees and who reinstates as Practising will complete the Practice Review within two (2) years of reinstatement.
- A registrant who resigns or is revoked and reapplies to the CMLTO as Practising will complete the Practice Review within two (2) years of re-registering.
- A registrant who changes their class of registration (i.e., Resigned, Non-Practising, suspended, or revoked) after being randomly selected for the Professional Portfolio or Practice Review audit will complete the Practice Review assessment within 60 days of returning to Practising status.
- If requested to do so by the Quality Assurance Committee.
Each Practice Review question links to a specific CMLTO Standard of Practice for Medical Laboratory Technologists. The CMLTO Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) reviews the blueprint every three years.
The assessment is open book, and online based. The assessment must be completed and submitted by a specific deadline, and the score for each question are added together in order to define the overall assessment cut score. Each Practice Review question links to a specific CMLTO Standard of Practice for Medical Laboratory Technologists. The CMLTO Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) reviews the blueprint every three years.
The assessment is made up of 30 questions that are linked with the CMLTO Standards of Practice, applicable to all MLTs. They are a mixture of true/false and multiple choice questions. Each multiple-choice question has four options.
Questions are randomized between registrants. In other words, the assessment’s questions are the same throughout the year but the way in which they are ordered differs on each registrant’s assessment. Lastly, assessment questions are selected at random from the question bank each year and are based on the PR Blueprint outlined above.
If a Practising registrant’s score meets or exceeds the overall assessment cut score, they are provided with a summary report containing supportive comments within 60 days of the assessment.
If a Practising registrant’s score does not meet the cut, their case handled in compliance with Quality Assurance Committee policies including QAC Policy 106 (which you can access here: here). Practice Review Reattempt. If your case is referred to the Quality Assurance Committee they may exercise their rights under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 section 80.2
To successfully pass the Practice Review audit, a registrant must achieve a score that meets or exceeds the overall assessment cut score. Every year, the QAC reviews and approves the audit cut-score. If a Practising registrant’s score does not meet or exceed the cut score on their first attempt, they will be provided a second attempt to meet the cut score in accordance with If the registrant does not meet the audit cut score after their second attempt, their case is referred to the QAC for review and deliberation who may exercise one or more of their powers under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 section 80.2.
Contact CMLTO Quality Assurance Program staff at qualityassurance@cmlto.com.