# Physical therapy school



## yossarianb52 (Dec 27, 2012)

I am living here in DF and raising my family. I've been looking at schools in the US for Physical Therapy. Everything looks good except for the idea of uprooting my family to go there with zero money coming in (ok maybe negative money) until my wife's immigration status changes and she can work. Also, we have a pretty good support system here and my wife's new job is pretty good. We have been doing my Res. Perm. status change as a matter of course (through my son) and this would let me go to school as well as to work here in Mexico. 

To this end I have been looking at PT schooling here. Only snag is, they;re not easy to find. PTs themselves are pretty thick on the ground however so there must be schools I can't find. UNAM's program is two hours away in Queretaro (for some reason) and the U del Valle de Mexico has a master's program but only if you have a Bachelor's in PT which is all clinical (unlike the states). If anyone has any insight into this (resources, opportunities, theories, stories or just to say give it up) I'd appreciate it. 

Thanks!


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## thinkering (Apr 24, 2013)

I would keep in mind my long term goals prior to pursuing education overseas for what could be a regulated profession in the USA or Canada and check in with the regulatory body to identify how much of a hassle it would be to have the foreign credential recognized.


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## yossarianb52 (Dec 27, 2012)

thinkering said:


> I would keep in mind my long term goals prior to pursuing education overseas for what could be a regulated profession in the USA or Canada and check in with the regulatory body to identify how much of a hassle it would be to have the foreign credential recognized.


I have done so and in New Jersey (my home state) any foreign-educated professional has to go through the same licensing process as someone educated in the US; a licensing board and certification examination must be completed in addition to the providing of documentation from the institution from which the degree was attained. Other states have different requirements of course and certification in one does not confer certification in most others (there are exceptions when it comes to linked PT boards). This is true for anyone, foreign educated or domestic.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

FWIW, here in MN, I've been told that you need a doctorate in PT, and that is becoming a standard nationwide.

There is also the PTA (PT assistant) which is a community college degree program.


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## thinkering (Apr 24, 2013)

Many professions require partial and mandatory retraining, so if all you have to do is write some exams that's fantastic.

Best of luck with your studies!


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## yossarianb52 (Dec 27, 2012)

mickisue1 said:


> FWIW, here in MN, I've been told that you need a doctorate in PT, and that is becoming a standard nationwide.
> 
> There is also the PTA (PT assistant) which is a community college degree program.


Degree required is a Masters (or higher of course)


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

You mentioned the programs being hard to find. Have you tried this search? It turns up several that you didn’t mention, I don’t know if you already found them and they’re unsuitable for you.


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## yossarianb52 (Dec 27, 2012)

maesonna said:


> You mentioned the programs being hard to find. Have you tried this search? It turns up several that you didn’t mention, I don’t know if you already found them and they’re unsuitable for you.


Checking out the link now, thanks!


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