Government of British Columbia Announces an Increase of Physiotherapy Training Seats

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PABC News
For Immediate Release
May 24th, 2019


PRINCE GEORGE - Today Melanie Mark, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training announced an expansion to the Physical Therapy program at UBC. Commencing in September 2020, there will be 20 training seats in Northern BC and in 2022 an additional 20 seats located in the Fraser Valley. We applaud Minister Mark and the Province of BC for their announcement today!  

Currently, all B.C physiotherapy training takes place at UBC, Vancouver, with 80 physiotherapists graduating annually. This announcement is a 50% increase that will bring the total, in a few years, to 120 being trained annually. The Physiotherapy Association of BC (PABC) has advocated for an increase in the number of training seats and training options in BC for years, so this comes as very welcomed news.

“Presently, there are 300 new physiotherapists hired annually in British Columbia alone, with most of those positions being filled by internationally trained physiotherapists. Today's announcement goes a long way to increase the number of physiotherapists trained in British Columbia and to ensure that patients get the care they need.” said Christine Bradstock, CEO, PABC.

Increasing the number of trained physiotherapists will help improve access to care, by supporting the B.C. Ministry of Health’s recent announcement of team-based healthcare in the province, via Primary Care Networks, along with the enhanced new ICBC care-based model, and the continued demand for physiotherapy through WorkSafeBC, and the growing demand for physiotherapists in the private sector. 

 

Media Contact:

Megan Johnson
Office: 604.736.5130 x.5

communications@bcphysio.org
bcphysio.org@bcphysio

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