A woman in her late 60s who is trying to bend her knee after a knee operation. A young man after a soccer match has an ankle sprain and cannot walk. A young lady in a car accident has damaged the neck muscles and cannot look towards the right direction. All of them need a physical therapist in their course of rehabilitation. A physical therapist is a licensed health care professional who examines and evaluates a patient’s condition and then plans treatments to promote the health. The physical therapy can of short or long term depending upon the condition and illness of the patient. For a patient who cannot move his neck towards right due to a muscle pull can take only a few sessions. For a patient suffering from a car accident with serious injury may require a very long session to gain his strength to walk.
Association Group Responsible for providing license
In New York, the New York 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 Education Department, Office of the Professions
Division of Professional Licensing Services
Physical Therapy Unit
89 Washington Avenue
Albany NY 12234-1000
Application process
For people from United States
PHYSICAL THERAPIST APPLICATION BY EXAMINATION
Eligibility: Applicant must be a master’s or higher degree in physical therapy of a CAPTE accredited physical therapy educational program, approved by the New York Board of Physical Therapy.
Program Located in the United States but not NYS Registered or APTA accredited, the candidate must have completed a program satisfactory to the Department which is substantially equivalent to a master’s or higher degree program in physical therapy registered by the department.
Foreign Trained Applicants: If the applicant has received education outside US at a school which is not accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), the applicant must submit a credential evaluation. The evaluation must be prepared by a Board approved agency.
Board approved agencies are:
The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) – www.cgfns.org
Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy (FCCPT) – www.fccpt.org
Instructions for Registering Online for National Physical Therapy Examinations
New York 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 York 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.
The applicant must have at least 3 years of practice acceptable to the State Board for Physical Therapy in the 7 years immediately preceding the application for licensure by endorsement.
The applicant must have completed an education accetable to the Department
Request your NPTE score transfer from the FSBPT at www.fsbpt.net/pt
Other Information
Fees:
The fee for licensure as a physical therapist is $294.
The fee for a limited permit for a physical therapist is $70.
Verify New York Licensure: It can be viewed on the official website http://www.op.nysed.gov/opsearches.htm
Information about jobs and salary
Job in State: As per data of May 2012 there are 13,930 jobs in New YorkState.
Salary: The average mean wage is $78,890. The bottom 10% is at $54,480 and the top 10% is earning a handsome amount of $110,540.
Links for reference
Official Website: http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/pt/
Exam Websites: http://www.fsbpt.org , www.prometric.com/fsbpt