About the Program
The CPA Clinical Specialty Program is a self-directed certification program to recognize physiotherapists who have demonstrated advanced clinical competence, leadership, continuing professional development and involvement in research.
Not sure what “involvement in research” means? Click here for more information.
Am I eligible to apply?
The CPA Clinical Specialty Program is available to all registered physiotherapists, regardless of practice setting or location.
To register as a candidate, you must meet the following requirements:
- A minimum of five years full time (one year full-time is 1800 hours) applied clinical experience
- A minimum of 300 clinical contact hours in the clinical specialty area annually
- A valid registration with their physiotherapy regulatory body in Canada
- A completed application form along with payment of the application fee
There are currently nine areas of specialization accepting candidates:
- Cardiorespiratory
- Musculoskeletal
- Oncology
- Neurosciences
- Pain Sciences
- Paediatrics
- Seniors’ Health
- Sport
- Women’s Health
Stages of the Program
A candidate has three years to complete Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the program.
Pre-Submission Documents
- Completed Conflict of Interest Form
- Completed list of Multi-source Feedback list of participants
Stage I: Candidate submission
- Documentation of advanced clinical competence, leadership, continuing professional development and involvement in research
- Completed multi-source feedback (MSF) questionnaire
- Two clinical reflections
Stage II: Case-based discussions
- Presentation of three clinical cases
- 90-minute discussion of cases with a three-person panel of experts
For more information on what must be included in a candidate submission please see here. Each specialty has different candidate submission requirements.
How will I be assessed?
Candidates are assigned a three-person assessor panel. Two of the assessors are from the candidate’s practice area and the third assessor is from an outside practice area. Candidates have up to three years to complete the program from the time of application until the final Stage II assessment. Successful candidates of Stage I will progress directly to Stage II.
Stage I Assessment
Assessors independently review the candidate’s Stage I documents, providing scores and comments for each component of the program. Each assessor will make recommendations on whether the submission will move forward to Stage II.
Stage II Assessment
Assessors review the submission and determine what areas of the candidate submission require further exploration in the case-based discussion. After the case-based discussion, the assessor panel will come to a consensus regarding the final recommendations for certification as a clinical specialist.
Board Review
All recommendations and assessments are reviewed by two members of the Physiotherapy Specialty Certification Board of Canada (PSCBC). The PSCBC members will determine if the program processes were followed according to the policies and procedures of the program and award the certification.