Physical therapy education

PHYSICAL THERAPY EDUCATION

How can the physical therapy profession position itself to accommodate the changing expectations for practice and the changing health care environment in a future that is entirely uncertain?"

The level of practice inherent to the patient/client management model in the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice requires considerable breadth and depth in educational preparation by seeing current researches & current trends in medical professions, a breadth and depth not easily acquired within the time constraints of the typical MPT program; societal expectations that the fully autonomous healthcare practitioner with a scope of practice consistent with the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice be a clinical doctor; the realization of the profession's goals in the coming decades, including direct access, "physician status" for reimbursement purposes, and clinical competence consistent with the preferred outcomes of evidence-based practice, will require that practitioners possess the clinical doctorate (consistent with medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, and podiatry). The specific augmented content areas include, among others, differential diagnosis, pharmacology, radiology/imaging, health care management, prevention/wellness/health promotion, histology, and pathology. Upon enhancing above mention courses in existing physiotherapy curriculum (CAPTE) has granted Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Degree.

The minimum educational requirement is a post-baccalaureate degree from an accredited education program. The majority of programs offer a master's degree, but a growing number of programs offer the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. Currently, 202 colleges and universities nationwide offer professional education programs in physical therapy; 45% offer the DPT and another 40% are planning to convert in the United States & current trend followed by other parts of world.

The Commission on Accreditation for Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) is responsible for the accreditation of DPT and MPT professional (entry-level) education programs. The current standards are contained in the 1998 Evaluative Criteria for Accreditation of Education Programs for the Preparation of Physical Therapists. Effective January 1, 2002, CAPTE will no longer accredit baccalaureate level professional education programs.

IS THE DPT DEGREE APPROPRIATE FOR PHYSICAL THERAPY PRACTICE AND THE PROFESSION? www.apta.org/dpt

"Appropriateness" for physical therapy practice and the profession involves a subjective judgment; for clarity, the question is often framed in terms of benefits and liabilities. Members of the academic and clinical communities have identified the following benefits and liabilities, among others.

PERCEIVED BENEFITS:

Professional (entry-level) DPT programs more accurately reflect the scope, depth, breadth, and rigor of the high-quality education preparation needed for current and future practice;
The professional (entry-level) DPT program offers a sound educational background that should better equip the graduate to enter clinical practice able to examine, evaluate, diagnose, prognose, and intervene in the management of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities of the cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, and integumentary systems;
The DPT degree will better facilitate the consumer's recognition of the physical therapist as a fully autonomous health care practitioner who is a point of entry into the health care system;
The DPT degree will better facilitate interactions with medical colleagues on an equal basis;
The professional (entry-level) DPT program offers greater knowledge, skills, and behaviors related to the administration and business aspects of physical therapy practice;
Assuming an uncertain and unpredictable future, the DPT degree positions the physical therapist to advocate and negotiate more successfully on behalf of high-quality health care, the consumer, and the profession.

PERCEIVED LIABILITIES:

The DPT is nothing more than an unwarranted inflation of professional education;
The physical therapy clinical science and its associated body of knowledge does not justify doctoral-level preparation;
Other health care providers, including physicians, will not "like" physical therapists being called "doctor";
The DPT degree only adds to the confusion of patients, employers, and other health care providers about physical therapists and physical therapy services;
The necessary human and financial resources for professional (entry-level) DPT programs are not adequate;
The educational costs of the professional (entry-level) DPT are prohibitive.

Melton (Jan 15, 2004 8:48:34 PM)
If we are going through all the work to obtain the higher level of education should we not get the respect of being called Doctor? This should be an issue; APTA should consider a campaign addressing the PT's abilities and further educating all medical and non-medical populations about our abilities. The statement we need to use "professional judgment on when and WHETHER to use it seems ridiculous. WHAT ARE WE AFRAID OF? Are we, or are we not qualified and educated medical professionals?

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