The PT Compact Progress So Far
2018 was an exciting year for the PT Compact. In January of last year, 15 states had introduced or passed legislation to join the PT Compact with another seven to follow throughout the year, bringing the total to 22 states electing to join the PT Compact by December. In July, the first three states, Missouri, North Dakota and Tennessee, began issuing compact privileges with the very first compact privilege purchased that same day. Oregon and Mississippi quickly followed later that month and Utah became the sixth state to begin issuing privileges in October. Though only six states were actively issuing privileges by the end of year, the PT Compact was off to a great first year. The doors for physical therapists and assistants wishing to travel and work in additional states without needing additional licensing were wide open.
What You Can Do Right Now
The PT Compact gives PTs and PTAs the ability to work in all nine member states currently issuing privileges under one license. There is a small fee for each state you wish to work in and a relatively short application process. It is important to note that while obtaining privileges can be quite easy, the criteria to participate in the Compact and take your work across state lines is strict. Among the requirements, a PT or PTA must not have any limitation from any state license to practice and cannot have any disciplinary action against any PT or PTA license in the past two years. Any jurisprudence exam requirement must be met before CP can be issued and your home state must be an active member state currently issuing privileges.
The Future of the PT Compact
In the first month of the new year, Texas, Iowa and New Hampshire joined the growing list issuing compact privileges with many of the remaining 12 member states set to follow in 2019. Georgia, Michigan and Virginia recently introduced Compact bills to their state legislature and several more states are expected to introduce legislation this year. You can check to see if your state is already a member of the PT Compact or if legislation has been introduced with this interactive PT Compact map.
To Stay in the Know
To make sure you are the first to know any updates for Compact privileges, sign up for the PT Compact email subscription list. Keep a lookout for update posts on our social media channels as well. SHC is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Why SHC
We’re excited about all of the possibilities that the PT Compact allows for physical therapists and assistants. With offices located in many member states and a national Travel Allied division in Dallas, TX, we have dedicated staff with years of experience helping PTs and PTAs achieve their travel dreams. If you are a physical therapy professional looking to travel, whether licensed in a current PT compact member state or not, contact us today to learn more about your options. We’d be happy to help get you started on your working travel journey and meet your career goals! To see all of our open travel Physical Therapy needs, check out our online job portal.
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