We welcome the decision of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) to lift the ban on Filipino physical therapists, who want to take the U.S. board examinations. As we have reported many times since the ban was implemented, many physical therapists who are in the United States on temporary visas were put in a dilemma due to this ban. They were forced to decide between going back home to the Philippines and waiting one year until the FSBPT lifted the ban or overstaying their temporary visas here and working illegally. Most of these PTs were, not surprisingly, inclined to choose the latter option since the huge amount of money required to buy airfare to the United States was too much for them to raise. Lest we forget, most of these PTs do not come from rich families, which is why they are trying their luck to get licensed in the United States.
The FBSPT, after months of investigation, lifted the ban after finding that there were no leakages of test questions to Filipino examinees and thus they could not prove any incident of cheating.
This finding not only allowed Filipino PTs to take the U.S. boards, but it also cleaned the reputation of the review centers in the Philippines that allegedly fed the examinees the leaked questions.
The test ban was a major setback even for Filipino-American healthcare companies, which could not sponsor newly graduated PTs since they could not get a license. This created a shortage of PTs among staffing agencies and thus forced them to hire sub-standard PTs.
It has been a tough year for healthcare workers. The Department of Labor reported that the number of Filipino nurses who come to the United States has fallen alarmingly, sending scary signals to many that the nursing bubble had burst. While this is happening, hundreds of thousands more of Filipinos are still in nursing school, dreaming of a time when they can finally achieve their goals. Most likely some aspirants decided to change careers or courses when they heard the grim prognosis of healthcare work in the United States.
Many Filipinos populate the healthcare industry. This is the industry where Filipinos are abundant and, at the same time, thriving. The quality of care and the level of skill provided by Filipinos have made the country the top exporter of workers in the world.
With the lifting of the ban, the FBSPT has made the path to success available once again to Filipino PTs who deserve it. And given the impeccable record of Filipino PTs here in the United States, the FBSPT will realize that they did the right thing.
With this, it should be uphill for PTs and the industry from here on.
