10 Things You should know before You Migrate to Alberta, Canada as a Physiotherapist

I’ve gone over this topic before, but now I want us to take a closer look at the Canada immigration options for a Physiotherapist. How do you become a Physiotherapist in Canada? Do you go the immigration route or do you try to get a job?
Firstly, Canada is a very large country with a number of provinces so I think the term “Canada” has become too broad. So we are going to look at each province and see what is required for you to practice Physiotherapy there.

ALBERTA
I like to start with the “did you knows” because it helps you make up your mind very quickly if this province is for you. Can you meet the requirements enabling Internationally trained Physiotherapists t to practise in Aberta?

1. Canada doesn’t offer any Physiotherapy undergraduate program for foreigners, you have to be resident in Canada to do a B.Sc program in Physiotherapy, that why they consistently need foreign trained Physiotherapists.

2. You should be registered by and licensed with Physiotherapy Alberta College Association (College of Physical Therapists of
Alberta) before you can to work as a Physical Therapist in Alberta.

3 Before you can be registered as a Physiotherapist in Alberta your University degree needs to be evaluated by the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (The Alliance).
The purpose of this evaluation to determine if your education is equivalent to Canadian physical therapy education standards.

4. The credentialing process usually takes from 10 to 18 weeks to complete.

5. The credentialing process will not begin until you have submitted all the  required documents.

6. You don’t need to have any work experience to be a licensed Physiotherapist in Alberta.

7. There are three outcomes of the credential evaluation:
I. Not substantially different from Canadian education
II. Minor gaps in supervised clinical hours
III. Major gaps in academic credentials

If your result is Outcome 1
You have the option to do the  Written exam only and get a temporary registration to work under supervision,

or

You just go ahead and do both written and clinical exams to obtain a full registration.
(PCE Costs:Written: CAD 865, Clinical: CAD 1455)
CAD – Canadian Dollars

If your result is Outcome 2
Your work experience will then be assessed to see if that can make up for the lapses. If it makes up then you can apply to do the PCE.

If not you have the option of practising as a Physiotherapy Assistant, Exercise Assistant or Rehabilitation Assistant.

If your result is Outcome 3
You only have the option of practising as a Physiotherapy Assistant, Exercise Assistant or Rehabilitation Assistant.

8. A Temporary Physiotherapy license has a two year lifespan, after which you must do the clinical exam.

9. You have only two attempts at the clinical exam. If you fail the clinical exam twice your temporary Physiotherapy Registration will be cancelled.

10. The Physiotherapy salary in Alberta,  Canada is CAD 44.98 per hour (Average hours worked per week is 31.1) with an average annual salary of CAD 73,042.

YOUR ACTION PLAN

If you want to migrate to Alberta, Canada, this should be your checklist:

1. Start the credentialing process. You don’t need to be in Canada to have your credentials evaluated. This process can take a chunk of your time so start while you’re outside Canada.
(Cost: CAD 995)
Get more info here 

2. If you haven’t yet done your English Test, go and do your IELTS.

3. Once you’ve done 1 and 2 apply for Canadian Express Entry. You cannot do the Canadian PCE exam outside Canada so you need to start your migration process.

More about Express Entry 

4. Look out for jobs in the job bank…while waiting. If you don’t mind you can fast track yourself into the Canadian health system by working as an assistant.

5. You can also look at the Provincial Nomination program (PNP) for Aberta.
Alberta Nomination 

2Comments

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  1. 1
    Gideon PT

    Please I studied medical rehabilitation (physiotherap) y in university of Nigeria, with my curriculum can I get license to practice in Canada assuming I go on with the credentialing and licensing process or will it be a waste of money, effort and time. Have u seen a physiotherapist that succeeded in the process. Am in Nigeria currently

  2. 2
    Nancy

    Hi Gideon, it's not a waste of time and yes Physiotherapists have succeeded through it. It's important to do the credentialing before immigration. You'll be fine.

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