A caution, a SCERP (Specified Continuing Education or Remediation Program), and an undertaking are remedial outcomes an Ontario health college’s Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee can impose after investigating a complaint, short of a full discipline hearing. They are not findings of misconduct, but they can still appear on your public register profile and can be reviewed by HPARB.
- A caution is an advisory communication expressing concern about conduct or practice — it is not a finding of professional misconduct.
- A SCERP (Specified Continuing Education or Remediation Program) requires a member to complete specific education, training, or monitoring to address the committee’s concerns.
- An undertaking is a formal, written commitment by the member to the committee to take, or refrain from, specific action.
- These outcomes are decided by the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC), not the Discipline Committee, and are not the same as a discipline hearing finding.
- Depending on the college and the disposition, a summary can be posted on the public register, even though no misconduct has been found.
- A member who disagrees with a caution or SCERP generally has the right to ask the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (HPARB) to review it.
Why These Outcomes Exist
When a complaint is filed with your regulatory college, the matter does not automatically head toward a discipline hearing. Most Ontario health colleges use a screening committee — typically called the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) — to resolve the majority of complaints without ever referring them to a hearing. A caution, a SCERP, and an undertaking are the main tools this committee uses to address a concern short of that step.
What Is a Caution?
A caution is an advisory, remedial communication from the committee expressing concern about a member’s conduct or practice. It is not a finding of professional misconduct, and in that sense is meant to be corrective rather than punitive. That said, depending on the college, a summary of a caution can still be required to appear on the public register, which is why even an outcome framed as advisory deserves to be taken seriously.
Because a caution can affect how future complaints are assessed and may be visible on your public profile, it is worth pushing back on a caution you believe is factually unsupported, rather than simply accepting it to make the matter go away.
What Is a SCERP?
A SCERP — a Specified Continuing Education or Remediation Program — requires a member to complete specific education, training, a practice assessment, or a period of monitoring, tailored to the committee’s concerns. A SCERP is explicitly remedial, but it still needs a reasonable factual basis, and courts have confirmed it cannot simply be imposed without adequate grounds.
What Is an Undertaking?
An undertaking is a formal, written commitment the member makes to the committee — a promise to do, or refrain from doing, something specific, such as practising only under defined conditions or with particular supervision in place. Undertakings are sometimes combined with a SCERP to address both the education component and specific practice restrictions in one resolution.
A regulated professional in Toronto receives a complaint about record-keeping practices. Rather than contest the matter at a discipline referral, legal counsel negotiates a resolution combining a SCERP (a records-management course) and an undertaking to have charts reviewed by a supervisor for a defined period — resolving the matter without a hearing or a misconduct finding.
How These Differ From a Discipline Finding
| Outcome | Decided By | Is It a Misconduct Finding? |
|---|---|---|
| Caution | ICRC | No |
| SCERP | ICRC | No |
| Undertaking | ICRC | No |
| Discipline hearing finding | Discipline Committee | Yes |
See our articles on the Ontario College of Pharmacists process and RCDSO discipline hearings for examples of how these outcomes fit within a full college complaint process, from first notice through to a hearing.
Can You Challenge the Outcome?
A member who disagrees with a caution, SCERP, or undertaking generally has the right to ask the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (HPARB) to review the ICRC’s decision — a different and separate route from appealing a full discipline hearing finding to the Divisional Court. Our companion guide explains how an HPARB review actually works and when it applies.
Received a caution, SCERP, or undertaking from your Ontario college? Call our Toronto regulatory defence lawyers at 416-274-2222 for a confidential consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A caution is advisory and remedial, expressing the committee’s concern about conduct or practice. It is a different and generally less serious outcome than a formal finding of professional misconduct made after a discipline hearing.
It depends on the college and the specific disposition. Several Ontario health colleges are required by law or by-law to post a summary of certain ICRC decisions, including some cautions and SCERPs, on the public register, even though no misconduct has been found.
A SCERP sets out specific requirements the committee considers necessary to address its concerns — for example, additional coursework, a practice assessment, or a period of monitoring by the college. The college tracks completion and the program is tailored to the concern raised.
An undertaking is a written promise from the member to the committee to do, or not do, something specific — for example, to practise only under certain conditions. A SCERP is more structured around education or remediation requirements. The two can overlap in practice and are sometimes used together.
In most cases these are presented as resolutions a member can accept rather than contest further. Declining typically means the matter proceeds toward a discipline referral instead, so the decision should be made with legal advice about the alternative.
Generally yes. A member who disagrees with the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee’s decision can usually ask the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board to review it. Our companion article on HPARB explains how that review process works.
The general framework — caution, SCERP, undertaking, and discipline referral as a spectrum of ICRC outcomes — is common across most colleges regulated under the Regulated Health Professions Act, though the exact terminology and public-register rules vary by college.