Practicing in Canada as a PT, OT and a CHT

Welcome to our information page on practicing in Canada!!

In order to get trained or work as a hand therapist in Canada, you should either be a Physiotherapist or an Occupational Therapist licensed to practice in Canada.

Whether you were trained in Canada or you were trained internationally as a PT or OT, if your passion is hand therapy, you have made a great career choice!!

Practicing as a PT

• Please visit www.alliancept.org for information on approval of eligibility to take the exam, registering for the exam and information on the exam. If you are an internationally trained physiotherapist, you would be required to apply for credentialing in order to establish that your education and qualifications are equivalent to those of a Canadian trained physiotherapist. Please note that you cannot register for the exam until your credentials are found equivalent by the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators. Once you pass the examination, you will be required to register with the Provincial College of Physiotherapy in the province where you plan to live and practice. All the above information including the links to provincial associations and educational resources is available on the above mentioned website.
• The requirement for practicing as a physiotherapist varies across different provinces and therefore it is advised that you go through this carefully.

Practicing as an OT

• Please visit www.caot.ca for information on approval of eligibility to take the exam, registering for the exam and information on the exam. If you are an internationally trained occupational therapist, you would be required to apply to Association of Canadian Occupational Therapist Regulator Organizations (ACOTRO) to complete a Substantial Equivalency Assessment System (SEAS). SEAS is required in order to establish that your education and qualifications are equivalent to those of a Canadian trained occupational therapist. Please note that you cannot register for the exam until your credentials are found equivalent by the ACORTO. Once you pass the examination, you will be required to register with the Provincial College of Occupational Therapy in the province that you plan to live and practice. All the above information including the links to provincial associations and educational resources are available on the above mentioned website.
• The requirement for practicing as a occupational therapist varies across different provinces and therefore it is advised that you go through this carefully.

Before planning to practice as a hand therapist, here are few things to remember

• Your services are billed as a Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist and not as a hand therapist and therefore, it is imperative that you have your practitioner licence.
• Please visit www.htcc.org/home for information on eligibility, application process, applying for the exam and resources.
• There are no University based postgraduate courses in Hand Therapy in Canada. Neither is this required to become eligible for taking the examination. You can either choose hospitals where there are hand therapy services or private hand therapy practice. Work based learning in the area of hand therapy will add to the 4000 hours required to be eligible for taking the exam. If possible, choose a work place where there is a hand therapist who is willing to mentor you.
• For further educational resources, visit the American Society of Hand Therapists website: www.asht.org 
• If you are simply wishing to pursue a postgraduate program in hand therapy, please visit the website: www.derby.ac.uk/postgraduate/occupational-therapy-courses/hand-therapy-msc/ Please note that you will be still required to apply through HTCC to apply for eligibility and for taking the examination.
• To find out if there are any mentors in your region, please visit our ‘List of Mentors’ section or contact the CSHT regional representatives by email. The contact information is under the ‘Regional’ Section.
• To recertify as a hand therapist, please visit www.htcc.org

* The process for credentialing and certifying as hand therapist may change over time and the readers are encouraged to visit the respective websites.

Whether you plan to become a hand therapist now or a few years later, remember that while this may look like a tedious process, the results are worth it!!