More Canada Report

Candian Reporting

Overview

The Internationally Educated Physiotherapists (IEP) Programme Project is a self-directed program that assists Foreign Trained Physiotherapists in their preparation to sit the national Physiotherapy Competency Exam (PCE) and enter into clinical physiotherapy practice in British Columbia.

 

The program includes both theoretical and practical components that are arranged through a clinical mentoring model including practice examinations and practical clinical skill/clinical reasoning workshops.

 

 

Background and Rationale

The PCE consists of two components; a written multiple choice question examination (MCQ) and a practical examination with multiple clinical simulated stations. The PCE is costly for applicants (approximately $1,975.00) and the pass rate is much lower for IEPs as compared to Canadian applicants.

 

The IEP project has been developed as a partnership between the following organizations:

  • The Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia
  • The Physiotherapy Association of BC
  • The College of Physical Therapists of BC
  • Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
  • Fraser Health Authority

 

The project is funded by the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development. Funding for this project commenced in January 2008 and will continue until February 2010.

 

Program Delivery

The IEP program consists of two separate streams; a preparatory stream for the written component (QE) of the PCE and a preparatory stream for the practical component (PNE) of the PCE. Annually, there are a total of 6 cohorts progressing through the written stream and 2 cohorts progressing through the practical stream.

 

Upon entry into the IEP program, each participant receives an orientation with guidelines and expectations and is then required to complete the program’s 50 MCQ baseline examination and review. This provides the IEP with feedback on their knowledge base and helps to establish an individualized study plan.

 

IEPs are then provided access to UBC’s online curriculum content which includes:


Cardioresp 

Cardio-Respiratory Module, Acronyms, Study questions and Glossary.  

Neuro

Neurology Module, Study Questions and Glossary.  

NMSK

Neuromusculoskeletal Module, Study Questions and Glossary   

Multisystem

Multisystem Module, Study Questions and Glossary.  

Professional

Professional Practice Module.

Exam Preparation Modules

MCQ Exam Preparation Module.

Practical Exam Preparation Module.

 

A second MCQ examination consisting of 100 questions is provided to IEPs followed by an optional third MCQ examination with 50 questions to prepare them for the QE.

 

Upon successfully completing the written QE, IEPs are given a follow up orientation to review the guidelines and expectations of the clinical stream and complete a baseline practical OSCE (objective, structured, clinical examination) consisting of 8X5 minute stations. Each station has an assigned case, monitored by a qualified examiner. With the aid of a Patient Model, IEPs are required to complete a set of tasks and produce a diagnosis within a fixed period of time.

 

 

After a period assisted progression through the modules and a Clinical Labs workshop, each IEP will undergo a second, more thorough examination that consists of 4x10 minute stations and 4 x5 minute practical plus 5 minute written stations.  This examination will occur approximately one month before the IEP is scheduled to sit the PCE. The results of this second IEP Program examination assist in determining the level of readiness of the IEP to sit the PCE and provides focus for the remaining mentoring time.


For more information please contact the IEP Program Manager at 604-827-5934 or [email protected].