If you have deficiencies in your credits, here are the following things you can do:
- Talk to the credentialing agency. Ask them what you can do so that you can be at par with the U.S. standard. Usually, credentialing agencies have suggestions such as taking a continuing education course, taking an online course, going back to college (we hope you will not resort to this) and so forth¦
- Contact your school to provide evidence that this deficiency was already taken. There are two types of deficiencies: a.) You do not have enough credit units. b.) You did not have supporting documents to prove that you indeed took the course. Your school can help you in both situations.
For example, your credentialing report states that you only have 67 professional units and you lack geriatric rehabilitation.
The state you are applying for requires 69 professional units. As you were reading your report, you noticed that they did not credit you for undergraduate thesis, a 3-credit course. You can ask your school to provide them a letter that your undergraduate thesis is equivalent to a U.S. course called Research Methods. Assuming a multiplying factor of 1 foreign credit is to 0.75 U.S. credit, you will gain 2.25 credits on your credentialing report. This will raise your units into 69.25.
How about the deficient course? As with the example above, the credentialing agency did not credit you for geriatric rehabilitation. You know very well that you took this course in one of your subjects but with a different name. Maybe, you took it on Medical-Surgical Lectures? Medical Rehabilitation Lectures? Theory and Technique? It is up to you. You try to think clearly which subject you took geriatric rehabilitation and ask you school to provide evidence that this subject is indeed taken on a particular course with a different name.
- Contact your state board. You have contacted your school and you still have a few subjects deficient¦ You contacted the credentialing agency and they said that they have reviewed the additional documentation you have provided, however, it is still not at par with the U.S. standard. The next step is to contact the state board.
For example, the credentialing report states that you lack wound debridement (integumentary rehabilitation) and pharmacology. You are sure that you did not take this course on your undergraduate degree. Ask them if you can take a continuing education course, or an online course. Some state boards will allow you to take a continuing education course. This is very helpful when you are in the U.S. There are a lot of wound debridement courses around (because of the certification to become a certified wound specialist). Also, there is a lot of online continuing education available. For example, A.T. Still University caters to students applying for a physical therapy license who lack some credits. The courses taken in A.T. Still University are purely online. You can easily take a pharmacology course with them and finish it in 6 weeks.
Remember! Before you take any course, be sure to check with the state board first. They will ultimately decide if they will accept an online course or not. There are times that credentialing agencies wont accept a course but the state board will. Follow the state board, they have the authority to grant you the physical therapy license.
