Meeting Contemporary Expectations for Physical Therapists: Imperatives, Challenges, and Proposed Solutions for Professional Education

Background and Purpose. Advances in medical science and shifts in the structure of health care have required adjustment of the realities of practice to fit the changing demographics of health, illness, and disability. Emerging changes in health care policy and regulation require continual response to new expectations and accountabilities in clinical practice. The intimate relationship between practice and professional education demands adoption of new teaching and learning strategies to prepare graduates to respond to the contemporary patterns of health and complexities of health care. This position paper advocates change in physical therapist education to enable practitioners to capture opportunities to promote the health of our patients via new delivery models—and thus lead the evolution of our profession. Position and Rationale. To lead, physical therapists must (1) demonstrate interprofessional competence in what is certain to be an interdisciplinary industry, (2) assume new roles and accountabilities within new structures of the health care system, and (3) devise models of care, particularly for patients with highly prevalent and chronic conditions, that address movement and function across the full continuum of health and life. In turn, professional education must require (1) early and persistent exposure to, and clinical mentorship by, practitioners in other disciplines; (2) accountability for expected treatment outcomes embedded in the Affordable Care Act; and (3) skill development in community health assessments, health promotion, and prevention of disability and disease across the lifespan. Discussion and Conclusion. The mission of health care is to improve the health of individuals and of populations. As science progresses and a more global view of human health emerges, change in professional education is inevitable and essential to meet this mission. Such change will be a catalyst to create and capture opportunities to use new delivery models to optimize the health of our patients.