Clinical Residency Requirements for Foreign PTs and PTAs

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) offers prospective applicants comprehensive information with regards to the certified clinical residency programs all over the country. The website provides essential instructions that need to be complied by licensed post-professionals. In the same manner, they also convey to the foreign PTs and PTAs the additional procedures that are needed to be achieved, in order to be granted permission for internship in a chosen state. Whatever the purpose behind the application for residency may be, this clinical exposure is definitely significant in pursuing a successful career, as a registered PT or PTA in the US.

Prerequisites

The requisite for clinical internship by foreign PTs and PTAs is usually established as an additional credential that is necessary to reinforce the applicant’s academic background and/or be given eligibility to take the US licensure examination. In this case, applying foreign PTs and/or PTAs are given two options that will assist them in completing the required clinical residency. The first one is to contact the Planned Learning Assistance Network (PLAN), which is configured and provided by the Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy (FCCPT). The question whether the educational curriculum attained by the internationally educated applicants meets national standardized programs will be thoroughly reviewed. These standards have been duly regulated by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).

Getting Help from ACCE

Clinical residency placements in the US may be difficult to achieve for foreign PTs and PTAs who have not enrolled in any of the CAPTE recognized programs. Typically, physical therapy programs prioritize their current students for internships before reaching out to other applicants. The other alternative course of action is to inquire from the Academic Coordinators of Clinical Education (ACCE). They function as facilitators who given the task to find the type of clinical residency that would be appropriate given the specific program the applicant attended and the state requirements he or she would later want to practice.

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