Does volunteering at another country count?

[Myze]

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I'm thinking of going to Thailand or Italy to intern or volunteer at a physical therapist's office for a month or two, but would that count as part of the 100-200 hours required by schools? And has anyone else here volunteered/interned internationally before? How'd that turn out?

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

That's a good question...I have no idea. I'm inclined to say it won't count for official PT hours, because the PT system is so different over there. Plus, if I remember correctly, when you have your hours signed off on by the PT you observed, they have to enter their license number (which an international PT wouldn't have a US license). However, you could still list it as volunteer/work experience, just maybe not under observation.

To be sure though, email PTCAS customer service (or the specific program you're applying to) and ask.

 

[Myze]

Thanks for the quick reply 🙂

Yeah, either way I'll be volunteering in the states for a couple hundred hours. But hopefully doing it in another country will make me stand out while fulfilling my need to travel! Two birds with one stone and all that.