Taking the PTA exam as a DPT

[mountaineerPT06]

So here is the situation: My fiance has graduated from a DPT program but is having trouble passing the board exam. He now has to wait until October to retake it. He is from Texas, and in that state, you may sit for the PTA board exam if you have graduated from a DPT program. He lives in WV now where that is not allowed, but is considering going back to Texas just to sit for the PTA exam so that he has a better form of income until he hopefully passes the NPTE in October. However, we aren't sure if he will have any difficulty transferring that PTA license to WV if he passes. I contacted the WV board to see if they had any rules against doing this, but they don't have any rules that specifically address this situation. It would have to be brought up at the next board meeting and then they would make a final decision. I would rather not do that if we don't have to. Has anyone else ever taken the PTA exam as a DPT and transferred their license to another state? I'm a PT myself but have no experience in this area and would appreciate any input. Thanks!

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[GoSparta]

Can't he work as a PTLA for until he passes? Or is that only while awaiting results? I would assume the pay is near the same as PTA. I could most likely be wrong.

 

[Azimuthal]

Can't he work as a PTLA for until he passes? Or is that only while awaiting results? I would assume the pay is near the same as PTA. I could most likely be wrong.

A PTLA is CA specific. Your starting pay is equal to a newly licensed PT. Like CA, most states that allow you to have a temp license, such as WV, strips you of said temp license if you fail the NPTE.

 

[Azimuthal]

So here is the situation: My fiance has graduated from a DPT program but is having trouble passing the board exam. He now has to wait until October to retake it. He is from Texas, and in that state, you may sit for the PTA board exam if you have graduated from a DPT program. He lives in WV now where that is not allowed, but is considering going back to Texas just to sit for the PTA exam so that he has a better form of income until he hopefully passes the NPTE in October. However, we aren't sure if he will have any difficulty transferring that PTA license to WV if he passes. I contacted the WV board to see if they had any rules against doing this, but they don't have any rules that specifically address this situation. It would have to be brought up at the next board meeting and then they would make a final decision. I would rather not do that if we don't have to. Has anyone else ever taken the PTA exam as a DPT and transferred their license to another state? I'm a PT myself but have no experience in this area and would appreciate any input. Thanks!

October? How did that happen? Why does he have to skip April and July?


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[mountaineerPT06]

October? How did that happen? Why does he have to skip April and July?


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January was the third time he has taken the exam which is the limit for a 12 month period. I initially thought he would be able to take it in July. However, he took it on July 22, 2015 and this year it is offered on July 20th and 21st. So he is going to be just short of the year mark. His school told him he would have to wait until October.

 

[scrawnyguy]

Would it be too much to ask where he went to school?

 

[Skydiver55]

I'm in a very similar situation and considering taking the PTA exam as I have to wait until July or October for the retake and need a more steady method of income. I will follow this thread and appreciate any feed back.

So here is the situation: My fiance has graduated from a DPT program but is having trouble passing the board exam. He now has to wait until October to retake it. He is from Texas, and in that state, you may sit for the PTA board exam if you have graduated from a DPT program. He lives in WV now where that is not allowed, but is considering going back to Texas just to sit for the PTA exam so that he has a better form of income until he hopefully passes the NPTE in October. However, we aren't sure if he will have any difficulty transferring that PTA license to WV if he passes. I contacted the WV board to see if they had any rules against doing this, but they don't have any rules that specifically address this situation. It would have to be brought up at the next board meeting and then they would make a final decision. I would rather not do that if we don't have to. Has anyone else ever taken the PTA exam as a DPT and transferred their license to another state? I'm a PT myself but have no experience in this area and would appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

[starrsgirl]

Can we ask a more general question of how are your classmates doing? Or can you share your school's pass rate at least if you don't feel like sharing the school? I'm shocked that the exam is a struggle after schooling. Any thoughts?

 

[mountaineerPT06]

Can we ask a more general question of how are your classmates doing? Or can you share your school's pass rate at least if you don't feel like sharing the school? I'm shocked that the exam is a struggle after schooling. Any thoughts?

I would rather not say the school, but the PT program is new. His class was the first graduating class. I know there are still 6 or 7 of the 50 graduates haven't passed the NPTE yet. I think the school provided the academic knowledge but didn't do much in the way of board prep. If you have been answering board type questions all throughout PT school on your exams, then the NPTE shouldn't be a problem. However, I don't think they were given those types of questions. Also, after the first failure, his confidence was shot and anxiety was through the roof. Both have really affected his performance on the npte. He did well on practice exams with no pressure.

 

[starrsgirl]

I would rather not say the school, but the PT program is new. His class was the first graduating class. I know there are still 6 or 7 of the 50 graduates haven't passed the NPTE yet. I think the school provided the academic knowledge but didn't do much in the way of board prep. If you have been answering board type questions all throughout PT school on your exams, then the NPTE shouldn't be a problem. However, I don't think they were given those types of questions. Also, after the first failure, his confidence was shot and anxiety was through the roof. Both have really affected his performance on the npte. He did well on practice exams with no pressure.

Thanks for sharing....good information for any student to think about as they work through their curriculum. 6 or 7/50 definitely shows the school can improve some aspects. I completely understand about increasing anxiety after the first time. I really hope you guys can get some straight answers on the PTA question and hopefully he can build a lot of confidence doing that work too.

 

[Skydiver55]

I have contacted my state board and I am not allowed to take the PTA in the same state I am applying for PT. I must take it for another state and practice there. Hope that helps. Also the policy is three times per year regardless of the exact dates. Your partner should be able to sit for July.

I would rather not say the school, but the PT program is new. His class was the first graduating class. I know there are still 6 or 7 of the 50 graduates haven't passed the NPTE yet. I think the school provided the academic knowledge but didn't do much in the way of board prep. If you have been answering board type questions all throughout PT school on your exams, then the NPTE shouldn't be a problem. However, I don't think they were given those types of questions. Also, after the first failure, his confidence was shot and anxiety was through the roof. Both have really affected his performance on the npte. He did well on practice exams with no pressure.

 

[Azimuthal]

There are also other options. I would consider working as a personal trainer or obtaining an ergonomics cert and seek temp employment in a safety related field.

I would also set up a strict NPTE studying schedule. I'm not going to sugar coat this. The NPTE asked very basic questions. There should be no reason to fail it 3 times if he graduated from a US PT program. I mean, the O'Sullivan study guide alone provides enough consolidated information taken from the texts, that a lay person could pass that exam. What is the most challenging for him? Retention or clinical application?

Did he use the PEAT?

 

[mountaineerPT06]

There are also other options. I would consider working as a personal trainer or obtaining an ergonomics cert and seek temp employment in a safety related field.

I would also set up a strict NPTE studying schedule. I'm not going to sugar coat this. The NPTE asked very basic questions. There should be no reason to fail it 3 times if he graduated from a US PT program. I mean, the O'Sullivan study guide alone provides enough consolidated information taken from the texts, that a lay person could pass that exam. What is the most challenging for him? Retention or clinical application?

Did he use the PEAT?

 

[mountaineerPT06]

He used the peat the first time but then you can't get new ones if you fail. He used O'Sullivan to prepare this time. He got (what I thought) were good practice test scores. I had read that a"they" say a consistent score of 135/200is a good indicator for passing the npte. He got 141/200, 149/200, and 151/200 so we thought he was well prepared. He can definitely improve on application of his knowledge bit I think his biggest issue is anxiety at this point.

 

[mountaineerPT06]

I have contacted my state board and I am not allowed to take the PTA in the same state I am applying for PT. I must take it for another state and practice there. Hope that helps. Also the policy is three times per year regardless of the exact dates. Your partner should be able to sit for July.

Thanks for checking! I checked with the WV board this morning just to make sure it was the same, and they said he can take it in July. I can't believe his school gave us such wrong information!

 

[HughLee]

Has he been in contact with his school. If there are still 6/7 people who have not passed the exam, they may be doing something for those students. Or they may have changed something in the program that he could access (such as offering a board prep class). You could check with some of the companies that do offer a board prep class. I think that our school uses Scorebuilders, and see if he could get in on one of their classes that is held at a different institution.

 

[marxand]

Hi! Long shot responding here, but I'm in a similar position. I know NY, SC, and Texas allow this. Does anyone know of other states that do too? Also, any advice for regaining the confidence needed to take the NPTE again?