The title of ‘Physiotherapist’ is not protected by law, which means that anyone can call themselves an ‘Animal Physiotherapist’ or ‘Veterinary Physiotherapist’ regardless of their training.
The title of ‘Chartered Physiotherapist’ is protected by law and can only be used by those who have first attained a very high level of academic and practical training in the human field.
The route to becoming a Chartered Physiotherapist specialising in Veterinary Physiotherapy is by obtaining a 3 year Physiotherapy Degree, then futher training as a Veterinary Physiotherapist at Masters or Graduate Diploma level, part time over 2 to 3 years. Upon completion of this Graduates are eligible for Category A membership of ACPAT.
The 2 institutions currently running this training are the Hartpury College and the University of Liverpool, sadly the RVC course is no longer running.
So if you want to be up there with the best, follow the links below to find out more:
Chartered Society of Physiotherapists
www.csp.org.uk
Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy (ACPAT)
www.acpat.org
Royal Veterinary College
www.rvc.ac.uk
Hartpury College
www.hartpury.ac.uk
University of Liverpool
www.liv.ac.uk