Curriculum Survey: Ethical and Legal Instruction—A Report from the APTA Department of Education and the APTA Judicial Committee

This report is a summary of the responses to the questions on ethical and legal issues contained in the Entry-Level Curriculum Questionnaire that was developed by the American Physical Therapy Association Department of Education in 1988. The report focuses on the specific topics comprising the content, the number of student contact hours, the course structure, and the status of the faculty teaching the content. The majority of programs indicated that ethical and legal issues are taught by physical therapy faculty to classes consisting of physical therapy students only. The content is related primarily to the physical therapy setting. Seventy-five percent of the programs have 20 hours or less of instruction in ethical content and 10 hours or less of legal content.