Are you a qualified Occupational Therapist moving to Canada?
The University of British Columbia Program for Internationally-Educated OTs (PIE-OT) can support your preparation for the SEAS competency assessment and prepare you for practice in Canada. Find out how >
Why was the UBC Program for Internationally-Educated OTs developed?
Canada’s increasingly diverse population requires culturally responsive health services (Lane & Vatanparast, 2022; Lin, 2022). The Canadian government aims to offer culturally relevant health services to its citizens (Lane & Vatanparast, 2022) and thus provides opportunity for qualified internationally educated occupational therapists (IEOTs) to practice in Canada (Government of Canada, 2025).
To acquire the practice status, IEOTs must undergo the online Competency Assessment (CA) and National Occupational Therapy Certification Examination (ACOTRO, 2021). IEOTs often face challenges in passing the CA, due to limited familiarity with Canadian OT frameworks, professional language barriers, difficulty accessing resources, and exam related anxiety (Kadakia et al., 2025; Mulholland et al., 2013).
The Program for IEOTs (PIE-OT) was developed to address these barriers.
Find out more about the research that underpins the program, and how we are tracking the program’s success.
Posters and presentations
“Supporting non-Canada educated occupational therapists to practice in Canada: Enabling culturally diverse workforce development”
Michael Lee, Felicity Heavin, Dr. Susan Forwell, PIE-OT team
A summary of the impact of PIE-OT on graduating cohorts in a 1-page poster.
Results: 85% passed the Competency Assessment (as of Dec 2025). 100% of participants who previously failed their first Competency Assessment attempt passed after completing PIE-OT.
Participants started with moderate to low baseline scores, especially in theoretical knowledge and exam readiness. After completion of the program, nearly all participants showed large, statistically significant gains in all domains.
“Supporting non-Canada educated occupational therapists to practice in Canada: Enabling culturally diverse workforce development”
Michael Lee, Felicity Heavin, Dr. Susan Forwell, PIE-OT team
An extended poster presentation including the methodology of the study and an overview of PIE-OT participants’ countries of origin.
Program Impact on Preparation for the Competency Assessment
Felicity Heavin, Michael Lee, Dr. Susan Forwell, PIE-OT team
Presentation slide deck outlining the impact of the PIE-OT program.
Program Overview
Hear about the PIE-OT program structure, what participants learn (and how), and about the application process in this short, 20-minute presentation from January 28, 2026.
Find out how the program supports IEOTs for the Canadian ACOTRO SEAS competency assessment, and how it can help OTs to prepare for work as an occupational therapist in Canada.
If you have any questions about the program, please reach out to our Program Coordinator (pie.ot@ubc.ca).
Contact the team with comments or questions
