FSBPT, NPTE update and rumors

News about FSBPT and their actions to temporarily ban all Filipinos from physical therapy licensure has already hit the Philippines and other countries such as India. I just wanted to give a brief update on here.

Rumors

• On Friendster and physical therapy forums, there is a rumor of a New York physical therapist that was asked to retake the NPTE, supposedly because her name was on the SLRC list. So is this fact or fiction? And who started this rumor? It took me a while to trace this rumor (the Internet is big), but I found the following post online that seemed to have started it all:
  

  
  charmaj_14 wrote:
  
  Hello to everyone. I just want to share this. I receive a call from a friend in New York & she's been working there as a PT for almost two years. Last week she received an email from FSBPT requesting her to RE-TAKE the stateboards. I think she was also enrolled at slrc So, in-short even if you're already in the U.S , you are still affected by the fsbpt's investigation. This is so unfair. We passed the exam because we study hard & all of us deserves it.
  

  
  
• I can tell you that charmaj_14's account has not been recently created. For instance, if someone just wanted to joke around, they could create a fake account and post a rumor. The account has been active for at least 2 years, giving some credibility that this person is not a spoof or a joke.
  
• The New York state board does not publish their disciplinary actions instantly and we don't have a name on the PT, so at the moment, we have to label this rumor as speculative with some credible elements. I will attempt to contact the original poster to verify the story.
  
• bingbong from the PT forum called the NY state board and said, "i was very surprised when i heard this from a friend and when i read it here. i called nysed office of the professions and they clarified that the rumor is not true. they are not revoking any license unless a therapist commited and was proven guilty of anything that would jeopardize his/her license".
  

Double standards
As you may, or may not know, FSBPT temporarily banned all Filipino PT graduates because they believe review centers encouraged students to cheat. If "cheating" is the standard for this type of policy, shouldn't it be applied to every country? Let me explain with some facts below:

• APTA's PT Bulletin, September 13, 2002, Volume 3 Issue 38 reported that FSBPT was investigating cheaters, presumably in the U.S.A.
  
• FSBPT Vol 19 No 3 reported during a meeting in Utah that cheating was prevalent in the United States (Professor Hogan was quoted).
  
• Ann Tyminski, Executive Director of the Maryland Board of Physical Therapy Advisors and a member of the FSBPT Board of Directors gave an update in 2004 that FSBPT was pursuing four candidates that had committed copyright violations of NPTE.
  
• So why didn't FSBPT withhold test scores from all U.S. students when they found U.S. cheaters?
  
• Once you have double standards, the policy, in my eyes, moves away from being fair and balanced to discrimination.
  

Other updates

• Most people recognize that FSBPT has the right to investigate cheaters. This is fair and just if they follow the evidence.
  
• But their actions against an entire country is incorrect and it is excessive. They do not have evidence that the entire country cheated, so why do they temporarily ban all Filipino-educated PTs from licensure?
  
• The only people that seem to disagree with me are people that are already in the United States or Canada and are already licensed. Or people that are in the Philippines that aren't in the situation because they don't want to come over to the U.S. to work. My only words to these critics: Don't criticize people that are suffering from this. If you have nothing constructive to say, don't say it at all.
  
• To people that do not like FSBPT's actions, you need to start writing letters. Yes, letters to newspapers, media outlets, TV, government officials, and to FSBPT. Without the public on your side, nobody will know. Click here for some additional actions you can take.
  
• Look at FSBPT's web site, they have entirely been silent on the issue. Why? Because they know what they are doing is controversial: banning an entire nation's PT graduates without due process is un-American (I'm a Filipino-American, so I can say that).
  
• In America's legal system, due process protects an individual from being punished for a crime before there is evidence against him. For instance, if a murder occurred in the state of New Jersey, should we jail the entire population of New Jersey and then figure out who the murderer is? Due process protects you from that type of unfair, knee jerk reaction.
  
• If FSBPT claims to "protect the health, safety and welfare of the [American] public", they must at least follow the principles of the country's legal establishment. If not, they are hypocrites.
  

I invite discussion and if you have any updates, please click on the comment link below.