Hi guys,

I'm about to qualify as a physio in the UK, however at the moment there are very few jobs around for newly qualified physios, and the situation is unlikely to improve. I thought long and hard about it and decided to look for jobs abroad. My number one choice is Canada, as apparently there is a shortage of physios in British Columbia and the paper work is not as complex as in the USA for example .

Are there other physiotherapists on this forum who are in the same situation as me or perhaps who've already successufuly completed all the stages of credentialing, finding a job and obtaining a work permit?

I'd be grateful for any information

Hi TanyaUK,

Welcome to the forum.

It might be worth a look at Alberta too. The Calgary Health Region is looking for physiotherapists at the moment.

http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/em...rtunitties.htm

Hopefully Morwenna will come on soon, she has just recently been through the process of get her Canadian accreditation.

Cheers
Steve

Hi Tanya!

I'm sure there's a shortage in BC as well as Alberta!

You'll need to get your training/credentials examined for equivalency by the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy regulators http://www.alliancept.org/

Then you are permitted to sit the credentialling exam which is in two parts, written and practical. In Alberta (and I think in BC) you have to have passed the written component at least before you can work "under mentorship" while you sit the written part. You can get all the details re credentialling and the exam process on the above web-site.

You should be able to apply to either BC or Alberta under the provincial nominee program, or you may find somebody to give you a job under a temporary work permit.

This google search for physiotherapy as a PNP threw up these results which should help you.

I think that all provinces insist on the national credentialling exam before licensing, but there may be a couple of exceptions, (where they are exceptionally desperate!)?

Let me know by email or private message if I can help in any way.

For information about obtaining a temporary work permit you should check ou the CIC site:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/index.html

You used to be able to come and work for a year as a foreign-trained physio in Canada before having to take the exam, but I think this is no longer the case.

You can contact individual health authroites in different provinces to see if they are able to help with immigration and/or work permit issues.

edit: Just came across this site if you're particularly interested in BC:
http://www.bcphysio.org/app/pdfs/Foreign%20Trained1.pdf

Thank you both for your replies. I like your signature, Steve_P
Morwenna, I sent you an e-mail with more questions