The Adaptation Experiences of Transnational Physiotherapists in Ontario, Canada: A Grounded Theory Approach

In both research and policy, much attention has been given to further understand how inter-nationally educated professionals integrate in Canada. However, little attention has been given to the reintegration experiences of physiotherapists who were educated and trained internationally. Using the constructivist grounded theory (CrGT) method, the main study objective was to generate a theory to further explore these issues. Following the CrGT approach, transnational physiotherapists were invited to share their Canadian integration experiences. The participants’ reflections about their lived experiences, feelings, and thoughts led to the identification of the contextual elements (micro, meso, and macro) as the dominant themes of “Facilitators” and “Barriers”. Further analysis revealed that a specific set of structural barriers and facilitators point to the five integration stages and six adaptation identities. In this study, identity adaptation (IA) emerged as the core theory that explained the participants’ successes and challenges. The contributions of this study are the first to be reported in the physiotherapy-immigration discourse. These include identifying the various social structures and processes that impact the integration of the transnational physiotherapists. Some of these examples include the positive effect of social networks and the negative implications of the “Canadian experience” (CE) requirement. The results have implications for more successful professional integration at the education, policy, and practice levels.