How to Become a Physical Therapist in New Jersey (NJ)

Physical therapy is becoming an increasingly important part of America’s healthcare sector and they are very much in demand. Physical therapy is a set of methods and procedures that assists a patient to rehabilitate and gain full use of their bodies after an accident or medical procedure or general health care conditions. Patient of all age is treated by the physical therapist right from infant to the very old. Both the patient and the PT work as a team to achieve the goal. Evaluation, planned treatment and patient’s participation is crucial for the success of the therapy program.

Association Group Responsible for providing license

In New Jersey, the New Jersey Board of Physical Therapy is responsible to issue license to physical therapists. The application process is dependent on whether you are new student, a licensed physical therapist in another state or country.

Mailing Address

State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners
P.O. Box 45014
Newark, New Jersey 07101.

Application process

For people from United States

PHYSICAL THERAPIST APPLICATION BY EXAMINATION 

Eligibility: An entry-level (first professional) master’s degree or an entry-level (first professional) doctor of physical therapy degree is required if the candidate has graduated after January 1, 2003. A post-professional master’s degree and/or a transitional-D.P.T. (Doctorate of Physical Therapy) degree do not satisfy the educational requirements for licensure.

Have the school(s) provide an official transcript in a sealed envelope. Do not open the envelope. Attach each sealed transcript to the application, or arrange to have the school(s) forward the transcript(s) directly to the Board office.

Foreign Trained Applicants: If the applicant has received education outside US the applicant must submit a credential evaluation.

Board approved agencies are:

International Credentialing Associates (ICA) – www.icaworld.com

International Education Research Foundation, Inc. (IERF) – www.ierf.org

Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy (FCCPT) – www.fccpt.org

International Consultants of Delaware, Inc. – www.icdeval.com

English competency: Applicants who are foreign educated must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) examination and achieve a score of 220 on the computer-based exam or pass all four sections of the new TOEFL examination

Instructions for Registering Online for National Physical Therapy Examinations

New Jersey Board of Physical Therapy is using the FSBT website to allow candidates to register online for NPTE. The website the candidate will follow to get registered is https://www.fsbpt.net/pt . The examination lasts for one day for a period of approximately 5.0 hours. The exam consists of approximately 250 multiple-choice questions. The National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) is a computer-based examination given at Prometric Testing Centers.

Once the New Jersey Board determines the eligibility based on the educational qualification and other guidelines it will be intimated that candidate can appear for the online examination. The FSBT will send the candidate an Authorization to Test (ATT) letter.

The ATT letter would contain the all important information about the exam schedules

Where to give the exam: The Prometric Testing Center fee must be paid directly to the Prometric Testing Center at the time of scheduling. Please visit www.prometric.com for further details for place and fees.

FSBPT Score Transfer Service is available on the Internet at: http://www.fsbpt.org . This is done to transfer the score directly to the Board.

PHYSICAL THERAPIST APPLICATION BY ENDORSEMENT 

For applicants from other states who hold a current license in another jurisdiction.

Make photocopies of the Verification of State License form and mail it to each state in which you hold (or have held) a license.

Contact the school’s registrar and request the official transcripts or letter of completion be mailed to the board office.

Request your NPTE score transfer from the FSBPT at www.fsbpt.net/pt.

New Jersey Law (Jurisprudence) exam: This exam is mandatory for all the candidates to get a license of physical therapist in New Jersey.  All applicants must successfully complete the enclosed “Jurisprudence and Law Examination”

Other Information 

Fees:

Application Fee: $125.00

Verify New Jersey Licensure: It can be viewed on the official website

http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/LVinfo.htm

Information about jobs and salary

Job in State: As per data of May 2012 there are 6,410 jobs in New JerseyState.

Salary: The average mean wage is $89,830. The bottom 10% is at $65,010 and the top 10% is earning a handsome amount of $119,960.

Links for reference

Official Website: http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/home.htm

Exam Websites: http://www.fsbpt.org  , www.prometric.com/fsbpt