Clinical Education

Attention International Physiotherapy Students
If you are interested in a clinical placement/internship opportunity in Canada you should know that the National Association of Clinical Education in Physiotherapy (NACEP) is developing a new guideline and application process.  Placements will continue to be organised through the individual member of NACEP responsible for the area of Canada you wish to be placed in.

 

 In the meantime, please see the International Placement section below or contact nacep@ccpup.ca.

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Canadian Placements

NACEP is made up of the Academic Coordinators of Clinical Education (ACCE) from each university program and the provincial or regional coordinators of clinical education.   NACEP members have a joint policy on how national and international internships are processed.  Each NACEP member is responsible for a geographical catchment in their respective provinces. Please review the information below to determine the catchment area.

To initiate a request or seek further information, please contact nacep@ccpup.ca. 

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When a student from a Canadian University wishes to complete a placement in a region other than the catchment area managed by their university, an Out of Catchment request must be completed and submitted several months before the placement. The entire process must be completed by the ACCEs of the requesting and hosting universities. These requests are in no way guaranteed to be fulfilled as students that attend the university in that catchment area will be prioritized for the available placement offers.. Under no circumstances, are students allowed to contact a clinical setting in Canada in order to organize a placement for themselves.

When considering which Canadian university to attend, please keep in mind that you may not be able to return to a different region for the majority of your placements.

International Placements

Thank you for your interest in a physiotherapy clinical placement/internship in Canada. Placements are organized through members of the National Association for Clinical Education in Physiotherapy (NACEP).    NACEP is made up of the Academic Coordinators of Clinical Education (ACCE) from each university program and the provincial or regional coordinators of clinical education.   NACEP members have a joint policy on how national and international internships are processed.  Each NACEP member is responsible for a geographical catchment in their respective provinces. Please review the links below to determine the catchment area to which you are interested in applying.  Once you have decided on the geographical area, you should submit your international internship request to the appropriate NACEP member in that catchment. By clicking on the links, contact information for each ACCE and school information will appear. 

You must work with one NACEP member and within one geographical area only.  Multiple requests from individual students to several or all NACEP members will not be considered.   This is to avoid the situation where several NACEP members work to fill multiple requests for the same student.  When an international request is received by a NACEP member, it is circulated to all members to ensure that the request has not been duplicated.

To allow for sufficient time to process the internship request and obtain visas and insurance certificates, requests must be submitted at least 6 months in advance.  As your request does not guarantee you an internship, you must be prepared with other alternatives. Please review the list of requirements at the bottom of this page and submit the required items to the ACCE in the location of your choice. 

Once this package is received by the NACEP member, a request will be made on your behalf to various facilities in the geographical area. It will be the prerogative of the facilities to accept your request and it will depend on their commitments to other students. Please note that most Canadian students have clinical internships from January to April and from May to September.  It is very difficult to find extra internships for international students during this time.  Please be advised that most clinical facilities will request that your university signs their legal placement agreement. This agreement must be signed prior to the start of your clinical internship.

Note that students who would like to complete a clinical placement in Canada will need to be aware of VISA and travel requirements when coming to Canada, including, but not limited to an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). More information can be found on the Government of Canada's web site.

Under no circumstances are students allowed to directly contact settings in order to organize a placement for themselves. Note also that students who do not respect the process as outline above, may have their placements invalidated and further applications from other students from their university may be denied.

Requirements

With your formal request you are required to send the following documentation to the NACEP member

 

  1. Detailed program information from your University Physical Therapy Department.

  2. A listing of your previous academic courses.

  3. A listing of your previous clinical internships (area of practice, length, type of facility).

  4. A letter from your coordinator of clinical education stating that you are in good academic standing with an average 75% or greater (this letter must include their contact information and their acknowledgement that you are applying for this internship).

  5. Two letters of reference using the student form on this website- one from a faculty member (not your coordinator of clinical education) and one from a clinical instructor that has supervised you during a clinical internship.
  6. Evidence of appropriate language proficiency (English and / or French) if English/French is not the student's first language.

  7. The dates of the requested internship.

  8. A minimum of three choices of the type of internship requested (area of practice).

  9. A prioritized list of geographical areas preferred (a maximum of 3). 

  10. Some provinces require that students doing a clinical internship be credentialed by the College of Physical Therapists in that province.  All expenses associated with this application are your responsibility.

  11. Most sites will require that you are covered for medical malpractice liability insurance.  If your school does not cover your insurance, you will have to purchase your own insurance and provide your certificate to the site prior to the commencement of the internship.

  12. Your resume/CV.

Canadian Programs and Contact Information

Here is a list of Programs by catchment area.
British Columbia and Yukon Territory

Clinical Education Advisor
Department of Physical Therapy
University of British Columbia
212-2177 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6T 1Z3

Email:  pt.educators@ubc.ca
Phone:  604-822-8225
Fax: 604-822-1870
Website

Province of Alberta and the Northwest Territories

Heather Bredy PT, MCISc, FCAMPT
Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education
Department of Physical Therapy Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine
1-40 Corbett Hall
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB.
T6G 2G4

Phone: 780-492-3724
Email: ptclined@ualberta.ca

 

Province of Saskatchewan

Melanie Weimer

Clinical Coordinator
Master of Physical Therapy Program
School of Rehabilitation Science
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon SK S7N 2Z4

Email: melanie.weimer@usask.ca
Phone: 306.966.6584
Website

Province of Manitoba and Nunavut Territory

Kelly Codispodi BMR(PT)
Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education
University of Manitoba, Department of Physical Therapy
R106-771 McDermot Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3E 0T6

Email:  ptclined@umanitoba.ca
Website

Northwestern Ontario

Brock Chisholm
Clinical Learning Liaison
Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM)

West Campus
21 Sylvan Street
Kenora, Ontario
P9N 3W7

Email:  Brock.chisholm@nosm.ca
Phone:  807-468-9861, ext. 2290
Fax: 807-468-7096

Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec around the city of Ottawa

Susie Renaud
Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education
University of Ottawa, Physiotherapy Program
School of Rehabilitation Sciences

451 Smyth Road
Ottawa, Ontario  K1H 8M5

Email:  formclin@uottawa.ca
Website

Southeastern Ontario

Randy Booth
Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education
Queen’s University, Physical Therapy Program
School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences

Louise D. Acton Building
31 George Street
Kingston, Ontario  K7L 3N6

Email:  boothr@queensu.ca
Phone:  613-533-6102
Fax: 613-533-6776
Website

Greater Toronto Area

Brenda Mori
Director of Clinical Education & Community Affairs
Department of Physical Therapy
Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

160-500 University Avenue, Room 858

Email: ptclined@utoronto.ca 
Phone:  416-946-8646
Website

Greater Hamilton Area

Jasdeep Dhir
Director of Clinical Education 
McMaster University, Institute for Applied Health Sciences, Room 431
School of Rehabilitation Science

1400 Main Street WestHamilton, Ontario  L8S 1C7
Email: dhirj@mcmaster.ca
Phone:  905-525-9140, ext. 21441
Fax: 905-524-0069
Website

 

 

Southwestern Ontario from the City of Windsor north to the Bruce Peninsula

Samantha Doralp
Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education
Western University, School of Physical Therapy
Elborn College

London, Ontario  N6G 1H1
Email:  sdoralp2@uwo.ca
Phone:  519-661-3368
Fax: 519-661-3866
Website

 

 

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Laval University

Jean-François Roux
Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education
Laval University, Departement of rehabilitation
Faculty of Medicine

Ferdinand-Vandry Pavilion 
Québec, Qc  G1K 7P4

Email:  Jean-Francois.Roux@fmed.ulaval.ca
Phone:  418-656-2131, ext. 6445
Fax: 418-656-5476
Website

McGill University

Crystal Garnett
Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education
McGill University, Physical Therapy Program
School of Physical and Occupational Therapy

3654 Promenade Sir-William-Osler
Montréal, PQ  H3G 1Y5

Email:  crystal.garnett@mcgill.ca
Phone:  514-398-1293
Fax: 514-398-6360
Website

University of Montreal

Chantal Besner
Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education
University of Montreal, Physiotherapy Program

School of rehabilitation, Pavilion 7077, Parc Avenue
P.O. Box 6128 Centre-ville Station
Montreal, Qc  H3C 3J7

Email:  chantal.besner@umontreal.ca
Phone:  514-343-6259
Fax: 514-343-6929
Website

University of Sherbrooke

Anne-Marie Côté
Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education
University of Sherbrooke, School of rehabilitation
Faculty of medicine and health sciences

3001 12th Avenue North
Sherbrooke, Quebec  J1H 5N4

Email:  Anne-Marie.Cote3@Usherbrooke.ca
Phone:  819-821-8000, ext. 72908
Phone:  1-800-267-8337, ext. 72908
Fax: 819-820-6864
Website

University of Quebec in Chicoutimi

Geneviève Gervais-Cadrin
Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education
University of Québec in Chicoutimi
555 University of Chicoutimi Boulevard
Quebec G7H 2B1

Email: Stages_Physiotherapie@uqac.ca
Phone: 418-545-5011 poste 2736 

Northeastern Ontario

Lesley Green
NOSM - East Campus
Regional Coordinator
Laurentien Campus

935 Ramsey Lake Rd.
Sudbury Ontario
P3E 2C6

Email:  Legreen@nosm.ca
Phone:  705-348-2973
Fax: 705-369-3567

Atlantic Region (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador)

Office of Clinical Education
School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health
Dalhousie University, 5869 University Ave.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3J5

Email: ptclined@dal.ca 
Phone:  902-494-2524
Website

Note: Dalhousie University, School of Physiotherapy is currently not accepting international placements unless arranged through existing exchange agreements.