Virginia

United States Physical Therapy Practice Acts

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Temporary License Requirements/Availability

An unlicensed physical therapist can be employed as a trainee under direct supervision of a licensed physical therapist until results of the national exam are received, following approval from the president of the board.  The traineeship will only last until 2 days after the trainee receives the results from the national board exam.  The trainee is eligible to apply for an additional traineship while waiting to take the next examination.  However, they will not be approved for a second trainseeship until at least one year after receiving results of the first examination.

Requirements for License

A physical therapist can receive licensure in the state of Virginia by examination or endorsement.  Education requirements include gradution from an accredited program.  If the applicant graduated from a program not approved by an accrediting agency, additional paper work must be submitted.  For applicants seeking initial licensure by examination, they must submit document of educational requirements; the required application, fees and creditinals to the board and documentation of passage of the exam.

Supervision

A physical therapist is held accountable for the actions of all those performing physical therapy tasks under the physical therapist's supervision or direction.  The support personnel can only perform tasks that

B. Support personnel shall only perform routine assigned tasks under the direct supervision of a licensed physical therapist or a licensed physical therapist assistant, who shall only assign those tasks or activities that are nondiscretionary and do not require the exercise of professional judgment.
C. A physical therapist shall provide direct supervision to no more than three individual trainees at any one time.
D. A physical therapist shall provide direct supervision to a student in an approved program who is satisfying clinical educational requirements in physical therapy. A physical therapist or a physical therapist assistant shall provide direct supervision to a student in an approved program for physical therapist assistants.

Continued Competence

As a prerequisite to renewal of a license or reinstatement of a license, each physical therapist shall be required to take biennial courses relating to physical therapy as approved by the Board. The Board shall prescribe criteria for approval of courses of study and credit hour requirements. The Board may approve alternative courses upon timely application of any licensee. Fulfillment of education requirements shall be certified to the Board upon a form provided by the Board and shall be submitted by each licensed physical therapist at the time he applies to the Board for the renewal or reinstatement of his license. The Board may waive individual requirements in cases of certified illness or undue hardship.

Does the Act appear restrictive? Why/Why not?

A. It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in the practice of physical therapy except as a licensed physical therapist, upon the referral and direction of a licensed doctor of medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic, podiatry, dental surgery, licensed nurse practitioner as authorized in his practice protocol, or a licensed physician assistant acting under the supervision of a licensed physician, except as provided in this section.

References

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Disclaimer:   Informational Content is assimilated from the state practice act is a resource only and should not be considered a  substitute for the content within the state practice act.  All state practice acts can change and it is recommended that you refer to the original resource in the link above.