hello everyone. i will be coming back to switzerland in a few months and wondering if anyone can help an american licensed physical therapist who got her degree in the philippines practice my profession in switzerland. i speak fluent english, tagalog and beginner german. any websites you can recommend for me to check out?..anyone have any idea if the healthcare system here is even hiring?..thanks a lot.

Check out this site. Not in English, I'm afraid.

http://www.physioswiss.ch/

I also would like to add physical therapy treatments to my massage practice but I need to have my papers (diplomas, certificates) recognized first. I am wondering if the organization mentioned above is the one I should contact with my question. My question is: Whom shall I contact to have my qualifications recognized in Switzerland (German part) and to get the permission for working independently as self-employed physical therapist in Zug/Zurich.

I know this question is not so easy to answer. Can anyone advise me on this one? Is there any place/office in Zurich where I should go? I know I need to have all my papers ready and translated to German with all information and details included and this already done but I have no idea what to do with it now.
Many thanks for your help.

If you have a university degree, you can apply to 'CRUS' - the 'council of universities'. You can submit everything in english, and it's not expensive. Once you have a determination on whether they recognise your degree, you can then look at applying to the relevant professional body that controls your profession, some professions are 'regulated' - eg. medicine, teaching, social work, clinical psychology. That means you have to go through the process of being recognised by some sort of 'licencing' system...

The crus system, from experience personally as well as with about 5 colleagues, is that it's very straightforward and efficient:
http://www.crus.ch/direkteinstieg-fu...grees.html?L=2

It seems from the CRUS website that physiotherapy falls under the 'paramedical' grouping and is licenced on behalf of the swiss government by the swiss red cross.

http://www.redcross.ch/e/index-fr.php
(see heading: vocational training)...

Note: CRUS is for university level degrees. If you don't have that level, then I suspect that you just go straight to the regulating authority (eg. red cross) and find out whether they will give you recognition or advanced standing for whatever papers you have.

Thank you, good woman.

thank you swiss pea. i truly appreciate your help.