Registered PT, Ottawa, Canada | Abhijit Minhas

This week’s spotlight features Abhijit Minhas, who is an Indian physiotherapist in Ottawa, Canada. After completing a bachelor’s in physiotherapy in India, Abhijit moved to the US for a master’s. He completed MS in exercise science course from Long Island University. After a few years of working in the US, Abhijit moved to Canada. In this spotlight, Abhijit speaks about his journey in the US and the process of getting a work permit + PT license in Canada.

What is your name, job title, and workplace?

Hi, I’m Abhijit Minhas, I’m a registered physiotherapist at back on track physiotherapy, in Ottawa, Canada.

What is your educational background?

I did my bachelor’s from DY Patil College of Physiotherapy, Pune, India, and my Masters in Exercise Science from Long Island University, New York City, USA.

Why did you decide to pursue MS in exercise science in the US?

Since I joined the physiotherapy program in 2004, I always wanted to go to the US and be the physiotherapist of the Chicago Bulls (I loved basketball), so going abroad was part of the plan from the very beginning.

However, I didn’t really know much about exercise science. My options were between MPT/DPT/Exercise science. After talking to some of my friends and seniors who had been through these programs, I chose exercise science. I felt I have some knowledge about manual therapy techniques, taping, mobilizations etc. But I was nowhere close to being competent in prescribing exercises (especially to athletes and active patients).

I felt that exercise science along with strength and conditioning would fill in those gaps. Moreover, some of my friends had already made me aware that most of the MPT programs (of the few that were left after DPT was introduced) were classroom lectures style of teaching. They did not have a big hands-on training component. So I chose exercise science

What were the universities you considered?

Quite a few, Long Island University, Arkansas state uni, CUNY Brooklyn, Kent state university, Pittsburg University, Loma Linda.

Why did you choose Long Island University?

It was one of the first universities to accept me and it was in new york city. I was told by one of my very close friends that unless one goes to an ivy league school, what university one studies does not matter much in the medical job market. Also, LIU had some great affiliations and professors.

Did you go through any counselor?

I did, Imperial overseas in Hyderabad

Tell us more about your course (duration, module, teaching environment etc)

It was a good 24-month, 36-credit program. It has three concentrations- exercise physiology (might interest cardio resp physios), strength and conditioning (this is the world of athletics in terms of training, not rehab), and special population (dealing with geriatrics, at-risk population).

To be honest, a lot of stuff that we studied here was already covered in BPT. If one digs enough into the credits offered, one can pick up some really interesting subjects which I did. An example was doing one of my clinical internships with our strength and conditioning specialist who was a 100 m olympian sprinter. Another example was working in an endocrinologist’s office combining exercise science, nutrition, and medical science to improve quality of life.

There are so many things to talk about but I covered a gist of it in my blog post I wrote a few years ago. You can find it here-

• Masters in the USA – Are you confused? Part 1
• My guide to studying and working abroad Part 1 (For Studies)
• My guide to studying and working abroad Part 2 (For Studies)

What did you like about your course? What you did not like?

I really liked the ‘on-field’ exposure I got working with the men’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams during the off-season among other teams. I also really loved my exercise testing EKG class. Exposure to practical training was what I was seeking.

I also loved their fascination with research, not just bringing new research to the forefront in the classroom but also conducting it.  The negatives weren’t much but in the exercise physiology concentration route, a lot of stuff we studied was already covered in our bachelor’s.

How difficult was it for you to complete the course?

It was not very difficult. I think bachelor of physiotherapy was much harder.

How much were overall expenses? (Tuition + Cost of living)

In 2011, each semester was roughly 10,000 USD so 40,000 USD for four semesters. Another 2-3K miscellaneous costs was the total fee (a bit expensive compared to other universities). Living in New York City is generally costlier so I’d say its reasonably expensive.

What are the job prospects in the US after your course?

There are a lot of physiotherapy jobs in the US. Plenty of work to be found. I never applied for exercise physiology jobs though.

How difficult is it to obtain a work permit + license in the US?

It really depends upon which work permit you are talking about. OPT is not hard to get, it’s generally 12-27 months. One has to apply for it at their university so not hard at all.

H1B is a different story altogether. It is hard and there is a fair share of luck involved as there is a lottery deciding who gets it and who doesn’t. I personally didn’t like it at all.

The license exam is somewhat challenging as it tests physios in analytical thinking in an MCQ style format. Since we are used to being tested in an essay format, it does pose its challenges. But it’s totally possible to crack it in your first attempt. You can read a bit more about the exam in a blog post I wrote here-

• My guide to studying and working abroad Part 3 (Working)
• Considering a Physio Career Abroad?
• My global learning

Why did you transition to Canada?

My wife (then my girlfriend) was in Canada and one of us had to move close to the other. Also, I was tired of dealing with the American immigration process.

What was the process like to obtain a license in Canada?

Very frustrating. I had a very unique experience. I wanted to be proactive and started my credentialing process with CAPR in 2016 while still working in New York. But due to reasons that are beyond my understanding (and especially in my case), it took CAPR four years to finish my credentialing process.

On average, it should not take more than a few months. While still impatiently waiting around the two-year mark to hear back from CAPR, I found out that I could also apply for a license for Quebec (different than rest of Canada).

It did not have a licensing exam. For foreign-trained physios, there were a few smaller exams and some courses to do. I applied for it and got my license in a little over a year’s time. It does have a French proficiency requirement. 

What was the process like to obtain a work permit in Canada?

That was relatively much easier than compared to the US. I had applied for it in the US itself. I got it in about 2-3 months if I can recall correctly. The whole process seemed much easier in 2016.

How long did it take you to start working in Canada?

I had made a small error when filing for my work permit, as a result of which I could work anywhere except in the medical field. So I reapplied when I got to Canada, that process took 90 days. Then, I started working as a physiotherapy assistant. However, if the work permit is filed correctly, the wait time is really not much.

What are you doing presently?

I work as an independent contractor at two physiotherapy outpatient offices in Ottawa. I also have my own little physiotherapy side hustle going on in which I try to put out meaningful physiotherapy content in terms of online courses, blogs, exercise videos, podcasts with influential physiotherapists and other people who inspire me etc.

The goal is to share information within our community, to be able to learn from those who have been practicing longer than I have, to be some kind of a mentor to a young physio who might be just starting off in their career, and to document my own journey as a physiotherapist along the way.

Can you elaborate on similarities and differences in physiotherapy practices in the US, Canada and India?

I will speak broadly from an outpatient perspective. The biggest difference in my mind is that in US and Canada, physiotherapy services are reimbursed primarily through an insurance model whereas in India it’s still largely cash-based ‘out of pocket’ reimbursement.

This has both benefits and a few disadvantages. Benefits in terms of a less financial burden on the patient committing to a physiotherapy program which in turn correlates to higher revenue for us. On the flip side, since the service is almost ‘free’/ highly subsidized there are increased chances of unnecessary utilization of the services increasing the overall healthcare costs and health care fraud.

In terms of practice, it is not really much different. Just like any country, there are some real state-of-the-art facilities and great physios doing excellent work everywhere. Likewise, just because it’s the west, not everyone follows the gold standards. There are plenty of ‘physiotherapy mills’ seeing an unreasonable number of patients relying primarily on modalities and cookie-cutter approaches to patient care. 

What are your future plans?

To keep working and helping patients in my community. Do more podcasts on the thinking physio podcast with interesting physios and others who inspire me. Put out some online masterclass and other physio content, trying to live my best life, etc.

What is the advice you would give to Indian physiotherapists wanting to relocate to Canada

Please start your credentialing process early, it will save you a lot of agony in the future. Focus extra hard on communication skills both professionally with patients and socially. We tend to put a lot of energy into our clinical skills but communication skills are so underrated but are paramount to overall success. Finally, prepare yourselves for long winters. 

Where can people reach you?

I feel I have been very fortunate to have interacted with some amazing physios, exercise physiologists, strength coaches, etc during my physio journey of working in India, the US, and Canada. I have learned a ton and have been putting out social media content in terms of blogs, physio educational videos, podcasts, etc since 2014 to share a lot of this information with our community. So hit me up on socials. Let’s connect and talk soon. Good luck.

Website- www.abhijitminhaspt.com

IG- https://www.instagram.com/abhijitminhaspt/

FB- https://www.facebook.com/abhijitminhaspt

Linkedin- https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhijit-minhas-1728b662/

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