Questions about UBC MPT

[Rajalgool]

Current first year in the program right now. If anyone has questions about the program feel free to hit up this thread and I will do my best to answer. 

[maybePT]

Hey, thanks for doing this! Have you heard about any talks about whether we will be doing classes online or in person in September? Thanks again

[Rajalgool]

I have heard zero talks about what will be happening with the new cohort. Obviously everything is up in the air right now. I think that they will adjust the program as best they can to accommodate, but truly have no idea what is going to happen if there is a second wave that hits.

Our curriculum has been radically shifted - were were meant to be on our first 2 placements right now, instead they have frontloaded a ton of coursework online. However, after this week we are done and will have a break until mid August, which ultimately means we will probably be graduating late.

So much of the content from first semester needs to be done in person: clinical skills, cadaver lab, surface anatomy etc. This is true for the gross majority of the program, which makes coordinating 2 groups of 80 students in 2 labs that can accommodate 80 students really difficult. I would say that the administration has their hands full trying to plan for limited social distancing numbers in class or contingency plans if were not allowed to gather in groups. I would say prepare for anything at this point.

Hopefully things have really settled down by the start of the fall semester so we can at least have a fun orientation week --> one of the major highlights of the program. 

[UBCPTplease]

Do you have any advice on things that would have made first year a little easier by prepping from Now-September?

[Rajalgool]

There's a ton of little things that they make you do before orientation week. I would say make a list and be sure to get those things done. Get all of the online modules done so that you can just enjoy orientation week. It seems like so much work when you get going in first semester and all of the courses seem quite difficult, but focusing on anatomy and clinical skills is where you're going to need to spend the majority of your time. I would say review some anatomy stuff, but for me, the anatomy was in such greater depth and detail that reviewing wouldn't have helped me much. Also the teacher for anatomy is a wizard and sometimes goes counter to what textbooks say, so you kinda need to be there to hear it from his mouth. Overall, you're going to be fine, it's a lot of work, but you made it in to the program for a reason. Just be prepared to work really hard from day 1.

[p12345c]

@Rajalgool I have a few questions about the program! I'm wondering about the MPT/PhD program (are there opportunities to do your PhD after you've been accepted into the MPT program only? I wasn't eligible to apply for the combined program). I'm also wondering about opportunities for international placements (I'm assuming they are on hold at the moment). Finally, a bit about research opportunities! 

I know that's a lot but any general insights would be great I also might PM you if you're okay with that!

Thanks so much for offering to answer questions - super appreciated

[Rajalgool]

As far as I know you will be able to do your combined PhD following graduating the program. As for the international placements, we havent had the opportunity to go on our first placements yet and the international ones are generally your last 2. Here, you're completely right, so much is up in the air right now that it's really tough to say what is going to be possible/available for your cohort. What I can say is the people that arrange the placements are super great and they try to give you as much accommodation as possible. Finally, research opps: Everyone does a research project as a part of the program. It's a group project and the topics are generally assigned to you. So you will have the opportunity to research, whether or not it's a topic you;re in love with is definitely up for debate. Hope that helps!

[maybePT]

So UBC has told us that lectures will be online, and clinical skills will be in person. How many days of the week do MPT1's usually have clinical skills? Am I correct in assuming those are labs? Thanks!

[PTgod]

18 hours ago, maybePT said:

So UBC has told us that lectures will be online, and clinical skills will be in person. How many days of the week do MPT1's usually have clinical skills? Am I correct in assuming those are labs? Thanks!

From what I remember hearing, labs are several days a week (3-4 days?). I’m from metro vancouver and I don’t know if I should move to UBC or commute. Anyone else in a similar situation? If so, what are your plans?

[maybePT]

7 hours ago, PTgod said:

From what I remember hearing, labs are several days a week (3-4 days?). I’m from metro vancouver and I don’t know if I should move to UBC or commute. Anyone else in a similar situation? If so, what are your plans?

right now, ive applied for student housing. Will most likely be moving if we are expected to be on campus 3-4 days of the week

[physio_ym]

Hey, thanks for helping. I am not sure if this is the right place for this but I am looking to get some perspective from those who are doing MPT but did their bachelor in a non science (non-kinesiology) field. How did they prepare for the admission requirements / pre-requisites? I have read the UBC MPT website and they accept applicants with bachelor in any field. @RajalgoolDo you have students from non science field in your class ? I did bachelor in advertising but I am keen on getting into physiotherapy.

My plan is -

1. Take all the pre-requisite courses ( Anatomy, Physiology, Physics, Psychology, Statistics and Exercise Physiology). I am planning to spread the courses in 3 terms - Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and Fall 2021.

2. Do volunteer work in Summer 2021.

3. Apply for Fall 2022 MPT intake. 

To be honest, I am a bit overwhelmed. I would greatly appreciate if anyone can share their experience about the process that worked for them and any advice on doing anything differently to make my application stronger. I really want to give my best especially coz I am from a different field.

Thanks.

[maybePT]

8 hours ago, physio_ym said:

Hey, thanks for helping. I am not sure if this is the right place for this but I am looking to get some perspective from those who are doing MPT but did their bachelor in a non science (non-kinesiology) field. How did they prepare for the admission requirements / pre-requisites? I have read the UBC MPT website and they accept applicants with bachelor in any field. @RajalgoolDo you have students from non science field in your class ? I did bachelor in advertising but I am keen on getting into physiotherapy.

My plan is -

1. Take all the pre-requisite courses ( Anatomy, Physiology, Physics, Psychology, Statistics and Exercise Physiology). I am planning to spread the courses in 3 terms - Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and Fall 2021.

2. Do volunteer work in Summer 2021.

3. Apply for Fall 2022 MPT intake. 

To be honest, I am a bit overwhelmed. I would greatly appreciate if anyone can share their experience about the process that worked for them and any advice on doing anything differently to make my application stronger. I really want to give my best especially coz I am from a different field.

Thanks.

Not a non science major but youre on the right track with taking the pre req courses. if you've never taken a science course before, youll have to start with 100 level courses which may be difficult to get entry into at UBC as most of them are restricted to KIN majors only. Id check beforehand which anatomy physiology courses are open. the 300 level ones always have space (caps 391/caps 301) but they require pre reqs to get into (first year science courses as well as calculus and chemistry etc...). As a non sci major, I think it would look better to have taken the upper level courses vs the lower level courses to show that you are competent with the material (no proof of this though, as the first year pre reqs are accepted). Try looking for universities that offer the courses only with less pre reqs if you can; they dont have to be at ubc.

with the volunteering, if you're applying to fall 2022 you definitely want to start your volunteering NOW or early 2021 as universities like to see long term commitments when accumulating hours.

You will also need 2 academic references and one practical reference, so make sure to make connection s during your volunteering time as well as during classes as these references can make or break your applications.

 

if you have any other questions let me know! happy to provide assistance

[P-T2020]

9 hours ago, physio_ym said:

Hey, thanks for helping. I am not sure if this is the right place for this but I am looking to get some perspective from those who are doing MPT but did their bachelor in a non science (non-kinesiology) field. How did they prepare for the admission requirements / pre-requisites? I have read the UBC MPT website and they accept applicants with bachelor in any field. @RajalgoolDo you have students from non science field in your class ? I did bachelor in advertising but I am keen on getting into physiotherapy.

My plan is -

1. Take all the pre-requisite courses ( Anatomy, Physiology, Physics, Psychology, Statistics and Exercise Physiology). I am planning to spread the courses in 3 terms - Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and Fall 2021.

2. Do volunteer work in Summer 2021.

3. Apply for Fall 2022 MPT intake. 

To be honest, I am a bit overwhelmed. I would greatly appreciate if anyone can share their experience about the process that worked for them and any advice on doing anything differently to make my application stronger. I really want to give my best especially coz I am from a different field.

Thanks.

Hey! I'm attending UBC PT in September. I did a Bachelors of Science in Psychology. With this degree I had my pre-reqs mostly covered besides the anatomy and physiology. I ended up taking them at my local college after I had completed my degree. 

I would agree that the biggest part is the references. My understanding is that they can be from any faculty so the degree doesn't matter as much.

For volunteering, there may be some at-home (remote) options that may be possible too so you could get started earlier if you want.

[physio_ym]

Thank you so much for your feedback. Greatly appreciate it. I agree I will start looking at volunteering opportunities as soon as possible. Any recommendations on volunteer opportunities I could find on the North Shore? I was thinking of Neuromotion ( Vancouver / Surrey) but if I can find something in north van, it will be a better commute.

Thanks again.

[PThopeful23]

On 6/5/2020 at 4:30 PM, maybePT said:

So UBC has told us that lectures will be online, and clinical skills will be in person. How many days of the week do MPT1's usually have clinical skills? Am I correct in assuming those are labs? Thanks!

You will have clinical skill labs almost every day in first and second term. I think you could expect a split of online material and in class lecture on the same day (for example, morning online lectures, two-hour break + commute time, and a 3-4 in class practical lab). Currently this is our schedule for the next 2 weeks as a second year student.

[PThopeful23]

On 6/25/2020 at 12:24 PM, physio_ym said:

Hey, thanks for helping. I am not sure if this is the right place for this but I am looking to get some perspective from those who are doing MPT but did their bachelor in a non science (non-kinesiology) field. How did they prepare for the admission requirements / pre-requisites? I have read the UBC MPT website and they accept applicants with bachelor in any field. @RajalgoolDo you have students from non science field in your class ? I did bachelor in advertising but I am keen on getting into physiotherapy.

My plan is -

1. Take all the pre-requisite courses ( Anatomy, Physiology, Physics, Psychology, Statistics and Exercise Physiology). I am planning to spread the courses in 3 terms - Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and Fall 2021.

2. Do volunteer work in Summer 2021.

3. Apply for Fall 2022 MPT intake. 

To be honest, I am a bit overwhelmed. I would greatly appreciate if anyone can share their experience about the process that worked for them and any advice on doing anything differently to make my application stronger. I really want to give my best especially coz I am from a different field.

Thanks.

There definitely a few individuals in my cohort with a non-science degree such as Business and others. However, majority do have a science background. Doing well on pre-rec courses and having lots of PT related experiences will make your application stronger if you don't have a science/KIN background. That being said, there's a lot of non-PT related experiences that you can also talk about on your application/MMI.

[PTGoal]

Do you think academic references are strongly considered for an application? I regretfully haven't gotten close with a single prof and am not expecting a strong reference if they were to even give me one... Just hoping to get in with the bare minimum of them filling out the document based off the grade I got and the 1 or 2 office hours I attended.

Really messed up by just being one of those students who only learns and regurgitates content. 

Thank you for doing this BTW!

 

[maybePT]

On 8/7/2020 at 11:41 PM, PTGoal said:

Do you think academic references are strongly considered for an application? I regretfully haven't gotten close with a single prof and am not expecting a strong reference if they were to even give me one... Just hoping to get in with the bare minimum of them filling out the document based off the grade I got and the 1 or 2 office hours I attended.

Really messed up by just being one of those students who only learns and regurgitates content. 

Thank you for doing this BTW!

 

They do matter. The personal work experience reference has questions relating to your ability to be a competent health professional. the academic references ask questions like how long have you known this student, how many courses have they taken with you, and what do you think their ability for research potential is, their intellectual capactiy, academic preparation, and all around ability. These references can make or break applications. When schools open up try getting in touch with professors and see if you can do some research? or take a few more classes and try to develop a good relationship with profs.

[PTGoal]

On 8/9/2020 at 9:32 AM, maybePT said:

They do matter. The personal work experience reference has questions relating to your ability to be a competent health professional. the academic references ask questions like how long have you known this student, how many courses have they taken with you, and what do you think their ability for research potential is, their intellectual capactiy, academic preparation, and all around ability. These references can make or break applications. When schools open up try getting in touch with professors and see if you can do some research? or take a few more classes and try to develop a good relationship with profs.

Ahhh, thank you for the advice.

I've never considered/ wanted to do research and have no clue what doing it with a prof would be like at the moment. Guess I can take term 1 to read about some interesting topics and get a better understanding on specific matters to at least open up the opportunity... 

Am hoping I can get by with a good GPA, professional reference, and just a couple of academic references that could vouch for my grades and work ethics in the worst case scenario!

[PT1234]

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[PTPLEASE!]

For the volunteer experience requirement - their website indicates that we should be working with individuals with disabilities for the volunteer experience requirement but the reference form includes the word "impairments" as well. Would volunteering at a physio clinic (working with individuals with physical impairements such as e.g. soft tissue injuries , but not severe disabilites) count towards the volunteer experience requirement? 

 

 

[Rajalgool]

On 8/27/2020 at 5:46 PM, PTPLEASE! said:

For the volunteer experience requirement - their website indicates that we should be working with individuals with disabilities for the volunteer experience requirement but the reference form includes the word "impairments" as well. Would volunteering at a physio clinic (working with individuals with physical impairements such as e.g. soft tissue injuries , but not severe disabilites) count towards the volunteer experience requirement? 

 

 

Hey there, I'm fairly certain that your volunteer experience needs to be with people with disabilities. A significant component of the program is focused on neuro and they're looking for people that might have an interest in pursuing this type of physio.

[PTPLEASE!]

2 hours ago, Rajalgool said:

Hey there, I'm fairly certain that your volunteer experience needs to be with people with disabilities. A significant component of the program is focused on neuro and they're looking for people that might have an interest in pursuing this type of physio.

Ahh okay, thank you! 

[mc3]

Hi! I'm wondering if experience working with patients with treatment resistant depression would count towards the 70 hour minimum requirement? It certainly can be considered an emotional handicap/disability but based on the reply to the question asked on August 27, I'm not sure if it works. I also have experience volunteering with a medical equipment loan program and was thinking of using this as well, but based on that same reply am not sure if this counts either. Any thoughts?

[PTPTPT12345]

4 hours ago, mc3 said:

Hi! I'm wondering if experience working with patients with treatment resistant depression would count towards the 70 hour minimum requirement? It certainly can be considered an emotional handicap/disability but based on the reply to the question asked on August 27, I'm not sure if it works. I also have experience volunteering with a medical equipment loan program and was thinking of using this as well, but based on that same reply am not sure if this counts either. Any thoughts?

As per the ubc website “Applicants are required to have completed a minimum of 70 hours of volunteer or paid work experience which involves direct interaction with persons with cognitive, emotional, or physical disabilities at no more than two organizations/establishments. Direct interaction refers to physical as well as verbal, or other virtual interactions (e.g. volunteering for a seniors’ support line, or interacting by Zoom). These hours must be completed by the application deadline. Please note, work as a receptionist, clerical experience, and working with elite sports teams does not meet this requirement.”
 

I think that your volunteer experience with treatment resistant depression would be sufficient! I’m not sure about the medical equipment. It’s definitely something you can put on your application for other volunteer experience, but not something that would count towards the 70 hours I think. Hope this helps