It's quite a complicated process to become a licensed physical therapist in the United States, if you did not get your Master's or Doctorate degree in this country. I had done the research before I embarked on my British adventure: about 40% of people I read about on the internet took about 5 years after obtaining their foreign degree before finally meeting all of the requirements and getting qualified. The other 60% had been working on the process for around 10 years or so and were still nowhere close enough. Despite the grim outlook, I reasoned that at least I had an American undergraduate degree, plus a year of a DPT program in Boston before I withdrew to recover from my traumatic brain injury. I hoped that with that background, plus all of my coursework in England, I would be fine.
As my time in England was drawing to a close, I had gone over with my advisor all of the requirements needed to pass the Education Review when I returned to the USA. There were one or two areas that were a little weak, but for the most part, everything was covered. As I got all of the documents together to prove what my education actually covered, however, there were some items that I did study in England, but the main document my university was sending to the Education Review committee did not mention them. I tried to get this fixed, but to no avail. My only hope was that the documents being sent from Boston, that I had absolutely no idea was was contained in them, would fill in the missing gaps. Otherwise I would be joining the ranks of all those people I read on the internet, taking years and years, with perhaps only some success, in obtaining my physical therapy license.
When I finally had all of the documents collected and sent off, I had to wait 8 weeks to get the result. What really made me nervous was that in 8 weeks exactly was the deadline to register for the January exam, otherwise I would have to wait until the end of April! And my massive student loans were certainly not going to pay for themselves....
Throughout my entire postgraduate career, starting in Boston, I knew that God was in charge and that He was guiding my path. I felt very strongly the need to go to school in Boston, and despite how it ended, I knew that I had done what God had wanted me to do, even if I didn't understand why. And as I found out about this program in Oxford, again I felt the Lord guiding me in this direction, regardless of the uncertainties of how it could turn out. So as I submitted all of my paperwork, here at the end of all things, despite all of the stories of rejection and failure on the internet, I continued with faith, paying the over $1000 just to get all of the paperwork and registration bits done in order to take the exam. It was hard to keep the faith and not doubt and fear with each large check I was writing, and as the weeks passed by and the deadline getting closer with still no word back from my Education Review. But I would keep reminding myself that God was in charge. He set this path before me, and I knew that no matter how it turned out, He would take care of me. Either He would open the way so that I would pass the review and be able to sit for the exam in January, or He would guide me to the things I would need in order to complete all the requirements and eventually sit the exam when it was best for me.
Yesterday, just 6 short days before the deadline for the January exam, I got word back from my Education Review.....AND I PASSED!!!!!! And, to no surprise, I only passed because of the classes I had taken in Boston. Had I not had that year in Boston, brain damage and all, I would not have met all of the requirements for the Education Review. Over and over again, I am in awe at how Heavenly Father knew exactly what He was doing when He was leading me down the path that He has. Now I am eligible to take the exam!!!! Only one last monsterous step, and I will finally be a license physical therapist, an adult with a real adult job, able to start real adult life! Now I just have to keep studying hard so I can pass the exam!!!!!!
Other than that, not too much else exciting has happened since I last blogged. Before I left England, I visited Scandinavia, which was a dream. While there, I realized that I really did need to be in Oregon for the next foreseeable future. Before that, I thought it was just me being biased, just me wishing that Oregon was the right place for me to be. But through my travels through Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark I came to realize that Oregon really is where I need to be at this moment in my life.
I also got to spend a few weeks on a "goodbye tour" of England and Europe with four of my best friends from my BYU days. We toured through England, Italy, Paris, Germany, Austria and Prague. It was so much fun!!!! I am going to miss that part of the world so very much!
For now, however, until I pass the exam and can get a job as a physical therapist in Oregon, I am chilling with the fam in Saint George. When I arrived, there weren't any jobs relating to physical therapy or athletic training or anything like that, so I decided to take a part time job at a frozen yogurt place, just for funsies. It's okay.....but only because I know it will end soon! I'm not going to lie, it is sometimes really awkward to try to explain to people how you just finished your Master's degree, and yet you are only working part time at a frozen yogurt place.
The absolute best part about being in Saint George right now though, is being with my brand new neice!!!! Little Vera was born at the end of October, and it has been so much fun being with her!
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| Julia looks like an ogre, trying to steal the baby, and Vera is all like "Wheeee, an adventure!" |
