Working in UK with bachelors??

Hey,

I was wondering if you are able to practice in the UK and/or in Canada with just a bachelors in PT?
Or is it recommended to get a master's degree?
Thanks!

With the UK bachelors degrees are the "default" degree. It might depend more where you got the degree. I know Australian and NZ Batchelor degrees are well recognized in the UK but other countries may have problems. The more major problem is obtaining work in the UK. You may manage this at a more senior level but if you are a new graduate I wouldn't even bother trying - just no jobs avaiable.

In Canada the Masters degree is the "default" degree. Howevever I don't know much about what is currently accepted from overseas. Perhaps someone else can provide you with info? Also check this website for under working in canada. for threads

okay, so you are saying that if i get my bachelors in the UK there are few jobs available? I would likely be working in Canada or the States so I definitely need to look into how my degree might be transferable.

Yes very important. I take it you are in Canada now? Are you able to study there? I don't know how it works but there are close relationships between US and Canada - so I if you get a degree in Canada it should get recognized in the US. Although the default degree in the US is the clinical doctorate and caned it is just the Masters degree Canada has a very high reputation of physiotherapy.

Ahh.... Yea I am in Canada now in second year of undergrad...but i wanted to try and get into pt more quickly because you have to have a bsc here and then apply for your masters in pt then you can practice, but i know now that it's only a bsc in physio in the uk and can then start practicing. But my main concern is that I won't be able to get into pt here because as you know its so competetive!
Do you know how it works in poland? there is a school there that i am considering applying to that has a 3 yr bsc in pt. Are there job shortages there as well?

A bachelor degree in physio remains the minimum requirement to practise in both UK and Canada.Canada physio schools have just migrated to MPT but majority still practise with BPT.For me ,UK physio training is not superior to what operate in some developing countries.In UK,u bag your BPT within 3yrs as against 5yrs in Nigeria.US boast of DPT,4yrs first degree + 3yrs clinical doctorate.FSBPT now relies on unproven evidence of malpractices to fence many foreign PT from gaining entrance to their health system.The real reason is the DPT.No DPT no job.I know canada would follow same trend as soon as they are able to fill the current physio shortage.yelufem.(do not give what u cannot accept).

Entry to practice requirements in a country are often not straight forward and it probably is best to find out exactly what is accepted and what is not. And what Yelufem is saying re providing barriers to foreigners is a sad and cynical reality. Having a degree at one level in one country is not necessarily the same as in another country and having a clinical doctorate is not necessarily better. I know in my part of the world universities are under pressure to switch from an undergrad degree to a clinical doctorate to keep graduates competitive in the world and stop them getting locked out of working in countries such as the US. However it creates some real problems: massive increase in study years and cost to students. And our publicly funded health system will just not afford to pay such graduates at rates the will be expecting.

However for your own future gotfunk8 I think you should seriously consider going for a higher degree as you obviously want a ticket to travel

Yelufem, I am quite ignorant of Nigeria's physio education. How does the five year degree work?

Hi Gcoe.The 5yr undergrad physio training in Nigeria universities consists of first year which we call preliminary level.Courses offered are biologicals and physical science with some electives.Then the remaining 4yrs are divided into the 2yrs preclinical and 2yrs clinical.U are graduated as a generalist so to speak but some schools keep bia for some area of PT,msk,cadiopul or neuro depending on the foundation faculties of individual schl.Like my schl had bias for msk as our graduates are known to be better msk PTs.Besides,all new grads must have 12mths clinical internship in an accredited hospital but at the expense of the government as intern PTs are placed on salary like intern doctor.Internship is part of clinical training as they are assessed by a senior PT and assessment forwarded to Medical rehabilitation therapist board b/4 full license can be issued.So in all, u have 6yrs of training..yelufem.

Thanks for that Yelufem. It sounds quite an exacting system of education and one you can be proud of. Years ago we had a bonding system for two years that acted like a an internship. I always thought it was a pity we got rid it. I think that first year out in the "real world" is a crucial window for learning.

What are the post grad opportunities like in Nigeria?

Thanks for your remark,Gcoe.There are seven universities training PT in Nigeria.Only three of these run PG in physio.It is very difficult getting a supervisor for PG trainning in those schl.There are few qualified supervisors to yearly no of applicants.This is grossly due to brain drain.Many of our lecturers are moving almost every year to greener pasture,USA,Britain and Canada.My schl is one of the universities that run PG progm being one of the first physio schls with many pioneer faculties.PG progm in physio is more of hybrid model.a little from britain and canada styles.Financial assistance or scholarship is almost not in existence here in physio trainning.U are to source for all expenses by yourself.So it is difficult pursueing PG training immediately out of schl.PT salary in Nigeria is almost at per with that of doctor.So PTs are respected by other health professionals and pts.Having PG cert does not improve PT salary.So many PTs are not motivated to enrol for PG.In Nigeria PTs are no more crazy to travel abroad b/c of some improvement in renumeration but many still check out to gain experience and better standard of living. Nigeria physio board has just submited a proposal to national university commision to approve DPT.Coming to your point,every nation is scrambling to meet up the US 's degree arrogance.No nation wants her progm be enclaved and taged inferior.Even the UK is moving in that direction. The almighty degree inflation syndrome.Well,Gcoe,how is PT progm getting along in NZ? whao,let call it a mail.yelufem.

We only have 2 universities offering Physio and each provide a four year bachelors degree. The university I worked in had a health science year then two mainly pre clinical years although there was some limited clinical experience . Then the final year the students are placed almost fully in clinical practice except for conducting a research project. The other university has a a somewhat more integrated approach to the theory/practice mix

The physiotherapy board sets the competencies that the schools must meet in order to be accredited. However both schools use that more as a minimum standard and pitch their education above that standard. It is very much a generalist education. Any strengths or weaknesses tends to be driven by the calibre of the teaching and lecturing staff. We have close association with Australia so our standard generally must meet theirs. The standard is generally high. We are also lucky in that NZ has traditionally had a high profile in the physio world arena, given it's size. But it hadn't always been like that. For many years we languished behind Australia as the institutes at the time were not of university standard and the funding was poor. That changed at the end of the 90's.

Currently NZ is going through a funding crisis for physiotherapy and it really is a no growth area. This is partly due to a change in the funding from the country's accident and injury insurer and partly due to a shrinking public health dollar and university funding under our current government. What started as a blip on the radar has now got set in and this could have deleterious consequences for some time to come.

As Australia moves towards the DPT we won't want to get left behind. If ift does happen soon I hope it won't be a simple transference of undergraduate curriculum to a post grad degree but will truly lift the game. Looking at universities like Melbourne Uni - they appear to be really offering a superior education - their undergraduate biomedical degree is purpose built and they have a stirling staff to support their DPT students.

So I am in two minds about the DPT. My biggest concern is the lack of workforce planning and the overall affordability. Maybe we will end up with fewer physios but more assistants to carry out the day-day work

Gcoe,Thank u for those info on PT progrm in NZ.It quiet intresting and promising too.We are not quiet familiar with PT progrm in your part of the world partly due to overwhelming influency of the west on our psych here.Interesting to know that Physio schls in NZ are looking the way of DPT.It seems the direction our profession would take in the new decade.In my part of the world,politicians and society place high premium on title.Legistlators beleive doctor of any chit should be more informed,more knowledgeable and so should get more attention.The secret truth about the push for DPT here is to help Physio better its lot before the decision makers.Australia giant stride towards DPT is commendable .NZ should expect the spil over effect of this if the relationship must be kept intact.Gcoe,u are a blessing to this world wide forum.I shall continue to look forward to your brilliant post.Happy and prosperous new year to u and family.yelufem.

Thank you for your kind words yelufem

It has been good talking\

Happy New Year to you too