non-article: Registration in Australia

The following is the resgistration requirement of Australia. The registration in Australia is governed by the Australian Council of Physiotherapy Regulating Authorities Incorporated (ACOPRA). It is a national standards advisory body for pre-registration physiotherapy education in Australia. AECOP was established to assist physiotherapists who qualified overseas to obtain registration in Australia, thus enabling them to continue to practise their profession. The requirements are as follows: The AECOP Eligibility procedure consists of the following components: 1) Eligibility Assessment 2) English Language Examination (if applicable) 3) AECOP Examinations 1)Eligibility Assessment: The AECOP examinations procedure is available to overseas-qualified physiotherapists who, in addition to general requirements relating to their residency status, can demonstrate that: I. Their tertiary level studies leading to their physiotherapy qualification are equivalent in duration to no less than three academic years and the curriculum studied is sufficiently similar in theory and practice aspects (including clinical hours) to the curricula undertaken in Australia, and included a substantial element of supervised physiotherapy clinical practice. [Educational programs in Australia leading to a physiotherapy qualification involve a minimum of four years study and include substantial periods of supervised clinical practice.] II. The course undertaken included theoretical and clinical components of cardio-respiratory, musculo-skeletal and neurological physiotherapy and of electrotherapy, similar in content and duration to physiotherapy education programs offered in Australia; III. The course would qualify the candidate to be registered/licensed as a physiotherapist in the country in which the course was taken; and IV. If the candidate graduated three or more years prior to date of application, the candidate has practised in paid employment as a physiotherapist for two out of the past three years, or the part-time equivalent. If the candidate graduated twelve months or less prior to the date of application the candidate is exempted from this criterion. V. If the candidate is from a country where English is not their first language they are able to demonstrate that they have a comprehensive knowledge and satisfactory level of skill in English. (English Language Requirements) AECOP Examinations The AECOP Examinations procedure consists of the following components: 1. Screening Examination (written theory exam) 2. Clinical Examination (Must be conducted in Australia) Screening Examination The Screening Examination is designed as a comprehensive test of knowledge in the principal fields of physiotherapy, as it is practised in Australia. It comprises two papers, each of approximately 150 multiple-choice questions of single response type. The majority of questions are written but some may be based on diagrams. Clinical Examination The candidate will be examined by two or three experienced AECOP examiners on patients who have acute, sub-acute or chronic conditions in the cardio-respiratory, musculo-skeletal and neurological areas. The exam evaluates your competence in patient assessment, treatment planning and management. A viva format for the examination is used and it will include a period of oral questioning. A suitable break is allowed between cases. Details please refer to the web-site: http://www.acopra.com.au/#top (Thanks for the ACOPRA for the above information. )