How to Become a Physical Therapist in Alabama (AL)

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

Alabama Board of Physical Therapy issues license for the state of Alabama to practice as a Physical Therapist.

Application process 

For people from United States

Information for new students who consider in becoming a Physical therapist 

Students should complete a graduation program of physical therapy education which is approved by the American Physical Therapy Association’s Commission.

PHYSICAL THERAPIST APPLICATION BY EXAMINATION 

Eligibility: Applicant must be a graduate of an APTA accredited physical therapy educational program, approved by the Alabama Board of Physical Therapy.

Instructions for Registering Online for National Physical Therapy Examinations

Alabama 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.

To check the status of the exam registration the candidate is requested to go to https://www.fsbpt.net/pt/candidatestatus.cfm

Once the Alabama 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

The Alabama Board of Physical Therapy will notify the candidate the exam results. If the candidate passes then the license will be issued. If the candidate fails and intends to appear again for the examination then he/she must start the application process again and the Board will guide of what fees and forms will be required.

PHYSICAL THERAPIST APPLICATION BY ENDORSEMENT

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

The candidate should send all the credentials for verification of all current state licenses directly to the board from all states where candidate is currently licensed. The entire request should be made to:

Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy

124 West Street South, 3rd Floor
Alexandria, VA 22314
Telephone: (703) 299-3100

Passing standard in AL is scale score 600 criterion-referenced.

Apart from this the he board may require specific additional information for consideration of licensure if required.

For people from other country

Foreign Educated Applicant / Graduate of a Program Not Accredited by the American Physical Therapy Association’s Commission

All Foreign educated physical therapist applicants must submit their education credentials to:

International Credentialing Associates

Inc., 10801 Starkey Rd
Seminole FL 33777
Telephone (727) 549-8555
Fax (727) 549-8554

www.icaworld.com , www.customerservice@icaworld.com

A copy of the evaluation by the credentials evaluating agency must be sent directly to the board.  The board shall determine whether the credentials are acceptable or not.

A foreign educated applicant must have an acceptable TOEFL scores: TOEFL (220); TSE (50); TWE (4.5); ibT writing (24), ibT speaking (26), ibT Reading Comprehension (21), and ibT Listening Comprehension (18).  A minimum of 124 semester hours of specific education if completed before 2003 and 155 semester hours if completed from 2003 to the present is required.  Applicant must be licensed in the country in which physical therapy education was completed.  The Board shall make the sole judgment in determining equivalency and acceptability.

Other Information about the exam

AL Law Exam: The Alabama Board for Physical Therapy requires the applicants sit for and pass the Alabama Jurisprudence Examination as a prerequisite for licensure.

The candidate needs to register online for the AL LAW exam. The website that the candidate needs to follow is http://www.fsbpt.org

Eligibility:

Once the documents are submitted the Alabama Board determines and validates the eligibility to sit for the exam.

Fees

Application fees: $110
NTPE: $370
AL Law Exam: $50
Prometric testing fees: $25

Information about jobs and salary

Job in State: As per data of May 2012 there are 2,130 jobs in Alabama State.

Salary: The average mean wage is $80,810. The bottom 10% is at $54,570 and the top 10% is earning a handsome amount of $113,110.

Links for reference

Official Website: http://www.pt.state.al.us/forms.htm

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

Foreign student’s website: www.icaworld.com