Acquiring Licensure for Physical Therapy in California

[ullumanali 0]

Hi there!

This might be an unusual question, but not sure where else to post this.

My wife is a Physical Therapist educated abroad from a non-US accredited school. We intend to continue living in CA and settle down here - so her goal is to get licensure in CA to practise PT.

Has anyone had any experience seeking licensure in CA with foreign education? Can you share your experience and any pointers?

/UM

[Killer_Clown_2009 0]

Did she contact the licensing board? I'm sure they can provide some direction.

[Otto 83]

Did she contact the licensing board? I'm sure they can provide some direction.

That's where I'd start... May also look into getting her school/credentials translated - and no..it's not unusual a question - am surprised it doesn't come up very often.. =)

[ullumanali 0]

Thanks Karin and Otto, jane2005,

To tell you the truth we did call the CA PT Board to try and find out more. But first here is some more background on why I'm fishing for people's experiences -

From what we heard, CA is the toughest place to try and directly transfer foreign licensure due to their requirements. Seems that during the credential evaluation, since Indian education covers advanced physics/chem/bio in junior college (11th/12th) instead of during the undergraduate degree, they require an Indian-educated PT to re-do certain general credits and basic science classes.

At this point, after working there for two years as a PT, my wife is wary of doing basic science classes all over again. So to save time and avoid doing these credits we're trying to figure out if it's easier to get licensure in another state like Michigan and then transfer over to CA. Can anyone confirm this through experience?

Now going back to the call we made to the CA PT Board, they told us that if we were transfering licensure from a state like Michigan to California, she would still need to undergo the credential evaluation again and submit forms per - http://www.ptb.ca.gov/license/applicat.htm

However if we go to the FAQ on the site, here is what they say -

Q. I have a PT/PTA license in another state and I am now applying to California. What documentation do I need to submit with my application?

1. Certificate of Completion Form (P1E) - Submit with the application in a sealed envelope.
   
2. Verification of PT or PTA License - The PTBC will verify your license in another state online if the state in which you are licensed in has online verification. If the state does not have online verification, please request a Letter of Good Standing/Certificate of Endorsement to be submitted directly to the Physical Therapy Board of California from the State Board(s).
   
3. Score Transfer Report from the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy - This form is available through the FSBPT Web site at https://www.fsbpt.net/pt or call (703) 739-9420 to request the form.
   
4. Resume of Work Experience
   

i.e. no requirement for a re-evaluation of credentials....!

Hence looking to see if anyone has had similar experiences and figured out how to make it all work...

Best,

/UM

Did she contact the licensing board? I'm sure they can provide some direction.

That's where I'd start... May also look into getting her school/credentials translated - and no..it's not unusual a question - am surprised it doesn't come up very often.. =)

[zyggy 9]

Thanks Karin and Otto, jane2005,

To tell you the truth we did call the CA PT Board to try and find out more. But first here is some more background on why I'm fishing for people's experiences -

From what we heard, CA is the toughest place to try and directly transfer foreign licensure due to their requirements. Seems that during the credential evaluation, since Indian education covers advanced physics/chem/bio in junior college (11th/12th) instead of during the undergraduate degree, they require an Indian-educated PT to re-do certain general credits and basic science classes.

At this point, after working there for two years as a PT, my wife is wary of doing basic science classes all over again. So to save time and avoid doing these credits we're trying to figure out if it's easier to get licensure in another state like Michigan and then transfer over to CA. Can anyone confirm this through experience?

Now going back to the call we made to the CA PT Board, they told us that if we were transfering licensure from a state like Michigan to California, she would still need to undergo the credential evaluation again and submit forms per - http://www.ptb.ca.gov/license/applicat.htm

However if we go to the FAQ on the site, here is what they say -

Q. I have a PT/PTA license in another state and I am now applying to California. What documentation do I need to submit with my application?

1. Certificate of Completion Form (P1E) - Submit with the application in a sealed envelope.
   
2. Verification of PT or PTA License - The PTBC will verify your license in another state online if the state in which you are licensed in has online verification. If the state does not have online verification, please request a Letter of Good Standing/Certificate of Endorsement to be submitted directly to the Physical Therapy Board of California from the State Board(s).
   
3. Score Transfer Report from the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy - This form is available through the FSBPT Web site at https://www.fsbpt.net/pt or call (703) 739-9420 to request the form.
   
4. Resume of Work Experience
   

i.e. no requirement for a re-evaluation of credentials....!

Hence looking to see if anyone has had similar experiences and figured out how to make it all work...

Best,

/UM

Did she contact the licensing board? I'm sure they can provide some direction.

That's where I'd start... May also look into getting her school/credentials translated - and no..it's not unusual a question - am surprised it doesn't come up very often.. =)

It doesn't matter if you get another US license.. if you want to practice in California, you're going to have to meet their requirements... they just won't give a license to practice if you get another one somewhere else...

[no one 0]

Can't help you, but can completely empathize with you. My Ontario (Canada) teaching certification is worthless here in California, so I'll have to go back to school and spend at least one year and tons of money getting re-certified. Yay [insert tired sarcasm].

[ullumanali 0]

That's the obvious Just trying to see if there is a shorter route.... but thanks!

It doesn't matter if you get another US license.. if you want to practice in California, you're going to have to meet their requirements... they just won't give a license to practice if you get another one somewhere else...

[ullumanali 0]

Aww man, they do that for teaching degrees too! That's just crazy...

Can't help you, but can completely empathize with you. My Ontario (Canada) teaching certification is worthless here in California, so I'll have to go back to school and spend at least one year and tons of money getting re-certified. Yay [insert tired sarcasm].