VANCOUVER -- It has been a long and frustrating wait for physiotherapist graduates in B.C. unable to become fully licensed. Since the start of the pandemic, their final clinical exam has been cancelled four times – putting their careers on hold at a time when there is already a shortage of physios in the province.

“It’s kind of scary when you think about how large the backlog is growing too with new graduates, who want to work within the system, but everyone is kind of stuck,” said interim physiotherapist Evan Wilton.

Wilton is one of 350 stuck in the interim phase in B.C. The disadvantages range from lower incomes to not being able to specialize in specific treatments to dealing with the stigma attached to their title.

“There’s also been a lot of people that just haven’t been allowed to work at all,” Wilton explained.

November 2019 was the last time a physiotherapist was fully licensed in Canada – the last time The Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (CAPR) successfully ran a clinical exam.

The clinical exam was cancelled in March of 2020 due to the pandemic. It was rescheduled in June, then November, before being cancelled again.

CAPR rescheduled a virtual exam in March of 2021, but the platform crashed while some students were in the middle of it.

Wilton says it has cost graduates money, time, clients and the development of their careers, while also restricting patients from treatment.

“It’s very frustrating. We’re very supportive of the issue. We certainly are compassionate about what they’re having to go through,” said Christine Bradstock of the Physiotherapy Association of B.C.

The organization says there was already a shortage of physiotherapists before the pandemic. B.C. needs at least 300 new physios each year, as many patients can’t access services due to long waitlists.

“You’re seeing the need in hospitals and in long-term care homes. There are waiting lists for most places in rural areas and in the city. We also see a lot of physios working with people who have had COVID, especially those with symptoms considered long COVID,” added Bradstock.

Following the failure of the online exam, the College of B.C. Physiotherapists says it has been working with B.C.’s Ministry of Health on an alternative solution.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for the college said: “We are working on getting a bylaw amendment that will allow an alternative evaluation for a specific group impacted by the March examination. We hope to know more next week."

“The college in underneath a health act and have bylaws and rules and regulations can function. In order for something to happen outside of the bylaw, you have to ask for a bylaw amendment and it’s not an easy task. There has been some significant conversations between the college and the ministry on how that can work,” explained Bradstock.

“It’s hopeful the province and the college has the ability to do a running of the exam, if the national clinical exam is not ready to go.”