B.C. physio graduates anxiously wait to get licensed after exam cancelled 5 times

Vancouver -

Physiotherapy graduates in British Columbia are still anxiously waiting their opportunity to become licensed.

The clinical exam, which is administered by the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators, has been cancelled five times during the pandemic.

"I'm not doing OK and this has been really challenging,” said interim physiotherapist Andrea Lyon.

Lyon graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2020 and had planned to take the exam last November, but CAPR cancelled it while they worked to create a pandemic-friendly alternative.

They offered it again in March, but technical issues caused them to shut it down. In September, they cancelled the round of exams that were slated for this month.

And before Lyon was even ready to take the exam, it had already been cancelled two other times because of the pandemic.

"I do believe that they can do better and be better,” Lyon said of CAPR.

Like the other 300 hundred plus graduates in B.C. and over 2,000 Canada-wide, Lyon said she has been forced to put her life on hold.

"It is not OK to demand that the 3,000 plus physiotherapy graduates and interim physio therapists continue to sacrifice our mental, emotional and physical health," she said.

Graduates who have passed the written exam can work as interim physiotherapists. However, that usually comes with less pay, and in some cases, a lack of benefits.

For Lyon’s fellow UBC grad, Nancy Wang, it also means no work at all. After moving back to B.C. from Ontario, where she worked as an interim physiotherapist for over a year, she was told by the College of Physical Therapists of B.C. that she would have to be certified to work in B.C. again.

"There’s a shortage of physiotherapists in B.C. yet I find myself not being able to work, when I do have a job lined up, do the college’s unwillingness to adapt," said Wang.

"I’m not able to prioritize other parts of my life because our lives has been put on hold by this exam so many times.”

Both Wang and Lyon are among the many now calling on the provincial college to step up.

"We are currently working with the Ministry of Health on potential solutions but we do not have a final plan approved at this time," the College of Physical Therapists of B.C. said in a statement to CTV News Vancouver.

"We are also meeting with other Canadian provincial regulators and the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators to discuss other pan-Canadian or provincial options as every province is trying hard to find a solution for these individuals."