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Supervision

Practice Supervisors must hold an Independent Practice Certificate of Registration in Ontario and must have held it for the last three years.

They cannot be related or closely associated with the Physiotherapy Resident (for example, a spouse, family member, or business partner).

Physiotherapy Residents are allowed to have more than one Practice Supervisor.

Supervisors may not supervise more than three Physiotherapy Residents at one time.

When the College considers a proposed Practice Supervisor, it takes that person’s history with the College into account. For example, the College will note whether the proposed Practice Supervisor:

• is the subject of an investigation
• is involved in remedial activities directed by the College
• has a history of practice concerns

The responsibilities of the Practice Supervisor include:

• Agreeing to the terms of the supervision by completing the Practice Supervision Agreement (in Online Member Portal) and submitting it to the College.
• Supervising the Physiotherapy Resident’s practice.
• Communicating with the College as needed. Practice Supervisors no longer have to submit regular reports to the College.

All registrants must comply with the legislation, regulation, By-laws and Standards.

Practice Supervisors may only supervise care that they themselves have the knowledge, skills, and judgement to give. This applies to all areas of practice including rostered activities.

Review the Supervision Requirements Summary Table for more information.

The level of appropriate supervision will depend on the practice circumstances. The Practice Supervisor has a duty to ensure that the Physiotherapy Resident has the knowledge, skills, and judgement to deliver care with the same quality as the Practice Supervisor would.

The Practice Supervisor and Physiotherapy Resident do not have to work at the same employment site as long as they can show there is adequate supervision.

Review the Supervision Requirements Summary Table for more information.

Although the College no longer requires routine reports (the Provisional Practice Monitoring Tool or the Clinical Performance Instrument) from Practice Supervisors, they may still need to give evidence if there are questions or concerns about the supervision.

It is important to keep records. For example, if you have check-in meetings, keep a record of the dates and what you discussed. If you have set learning goals, keep track of how things are progressing. If you conduct chart reviews, record the results.

Practice Supervisors must report to the College if any of these situations occur:

• They learn that a patient has been sexually abused by the Physiotherapy Resident.
• They believe that the Physiotherapy Resident is incompetent, incapacitated, or unable to deliver safe patient care.
• The Physiotherapy Resident is terminated for reasons of professional misconduct, incompetence (lack of knowledge, skills, or judgement) or incapacity (health challenges that pose a risk to patient care).
• The Physiotherapy Resident is facing termination of employment but resigns before being terminated.
• The Physiotherapy Resident is involved in a workplace progressive discipline or remediation process.Get additional information on your Mandatory Reporting Obligations.

First you must successfully complete the written portion of the Physiotherapy Competency Examination (PCE). This exam is administered by the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators. Then you can apply to the College for your Provisional Practice certificate of registration.

Note that you will be required to register for the next available administration of the Ontario Clinical Exam at the same time that you apply for Provisional Practice. You must also pay the full Ontario Clinical Exam fee of $1,985 at the time of registration.

Ontario’s registration regulation requires that applicants are registered for the next clinical exam in order to receive a Provisional Practice certificate.

Visit CAPR Steps to Apply: Learn More

A Provisional Practice Certificate is valid for 6 months and can be extended.

You can work as long as your Certificate of Registration is valid. If you forget the date that your Certificate will expire, log in to the College PT Portal or check the Public Register.

No, you can apply for a Provisional Practice Certificate even if you do not have a job set up.

Yes. You can apply for a Provisional Practice Certificate if you do not have a Practice Supervisor identified.

You will not be able to deliver patient care and your Certificate of Registration will have a restriction on it which will identify that you cannot deliver patient care.

There is an application fee of $114, which is taken at the time you apply. There is an additional fee of $85, which is taken once your application has been processed.

Yes. As of April 2017, your Practice Supervisor must currently hold an Independent Practice Certificate and have held the Independent Practice Certificate for the last three years in Ontario.

Review the Supervision Requirements Summary Table for more information.

Our processing time for all applications is 15 days. This includes a review of the application to ensure you meet all the requirements. This part of the review could take longer if your application is incomplete.

Also, if there are concerns about your application, you may be referred to the Registration Committee for another review. This process can take up to 60 days. In fairness to all applicants, there is no fast track or expedited application process.

Note: An incomplete application will delay the processing times.

Email the College at registration@collegept.org to provide the name and certificate of registration number of your proposed Practice Supervisor. The Registration team will review the proposed Practice Supervisor to ensure that they meet the requirements. If the Practice Supervisor is approved, the Supervisor will receive an e-mail instructing them to log into the Online Member Portal to sign a Supervision Agreement.

If your proposed Practice Supervisor is not approved, the College will send you an email asking you to find a new proposed Practice Supervisor.

Remember: You are not permitted to practice until your Practice Supervisor is approved.

Yes, a Physiotherapy Resident can roster for any authorized activity or controlled act that the person was educated to perform, as long as:

• The education included a theoretical component (learning, for example, about risks, contraindications)
• The education included a practical component (such as practice on other course participants)
• The education included an evaluation component of your knowledge (theory)
  and skills (practice).
• The Practice Supervisor is rostered to perform the same activities.Review the Supervision Requirements Summary Table for more information.

If your Practice Supervisor is unavailable for more than two weeks you will need to stop practicing or arrange to have a different supervisor while they are absent. This information is available in the Provisional Practice Application PackageLink opens in a new window.

Supervisors have a duty to ensure that PT students they are overseeing have the knowledge, skills, and judgement to assess and deliver, safe and quality care to patients. They should consider any factors that influence patient risk, such as the patient’s condition, the clinical environment, who is available in the workplace to support the physiotherapy student, and the abilities and experience of the specific student. The level of supervision should be based on all of these factors and supervision requirements will vary between students. The supervisor must observe each student’s performance and their level of competence to determine the risk to the patient. To be an effective supervisor, the physiotherapist may need to be on-site in some cases while some supervision can be managed off-site. The PT supervisor must make that determination. Remember, the supervisor remains accountable for the physiotherapy student’s actions and must be able to rationalize the level of supervision if requested.

Review the Supervision Standard for more information.

Initially the supervisor must directly observe the student’s performance and determine their level of competence when the student is learning a new skill. The supervisor should conduct a student evaluation if there are concerns about their performance and if the student is practicing or performing a controlled act or other restricted activity.

Review the Controlled Acts and Restricted Activities Standard for more information.

Yes. Physiotherapists are ultimately responsible for the care provided by PT students under their supervision and must co-sign all entries in the patient record.Review the Supervision Standard and the Record Keeping Standard for more information.

Physiotherapy students may perform any of the controlled acts that physiotherapists are authorized to perform as part of their training to become a member of the profession, if certain conditions are met. Before the student performs any part of a controlled act, the supervising physiotherapist must:

• be rostered to perform the controlled act
• be confident that the physiotherapy student has the knowledge, skills, and judgment to perform the controlled act as assigned
• have the patient’s consent for the physiotherapy student’s involvement in their care
• provide an appropriate level of supervision to ensure safe and effective care

No. While the College requires PT Residents to be supervised by a physiotherapist holding an Independent Practice Certificate for three years, there is no such requirement to supervise a physiotherapy student. Universities may have their own requirements for PTs who wish to take on students from their institution.

A PT needs to self-assess their own competency before deciding if they can act as a physiotherapy student supervisor. The PT is responsible for all care provided by students under their supervision. It is an important responsibility to take on this role.

Yes. A physiotherapy student can provide a physiotherapy assessment and treatment virtually as long as their PT supervisor has confidence that the student has the knowledge, skills, and judgement to do so safely and competently.

The PT supervisor should review specific aspects of providing care virtually such as safety and obtaining consent with their student before having them provide care virtually. The PT supervisor might consider practicing with the student in advance to be sure they are comfortable with practical aspects such as camera placement and privacy considerations. Finally, they should review the standards with the students keeping in mind that all rules that apply for in-person care also apply to virtual care.