JISCMail - PHYSIO Archives

Rege and others:

I’m not surprised that some people relish the professional changes that come with an entry level DPT and other are more cautious (or downright antagonistic). The entire perspective of that thing that is a DPT varies so remarkably between people.

Some people expect expertise, and others an entry-level degree. Some people expect change and others the status quo.

For example, David W. Perry wrote:

When moving to post bac iniatially, what was seen was that programs had already greatly expanded beyond the minimum course requirement, and were really functioning at the Masters level already. Could that also be the case now with DPT?

My interpretation of this is that the BPT = MPT = DPT. So the companies that offer me a DPT based on some minimal course work expectation fit this model nicely. Is this the correct interpretation? Is this a reasonable expectation of an increment in titles?

Murray

Murray E. Maitland PhD PT

University of South Florida

School of Physical Therapy

12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd

MDC 077

Tampa, Florida, USA

33612-4766

Telephone (813) 974-1666

Fax (813) 974-8915

Email [log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
From: - for physiotherapists in education and practice [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Regis Turocy
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 10:57 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Apology for DPT

Murray and Jason,

Could not agree with you more. How about adding insult to injury. Look at the proposed CAPTE requirements. They are suggesting that all you need to be a clinical instructor for the DPT student is a maximum of one years clinical experience. Now does that make any sense to anyone. It seems to me that if we are going to train "doctors" of physical therapy and expect them to be clinically proficient, then the ones doing the training should be classified as the "experts" in clinical practice (but what do I know I have only been a PT for 34 years!)

Rege

At 09:51 AM 7/8/2004 -0400, you wrote:

Jason and others:

Your rant wasn t long enough. At the risk of voicing old news, I have very bad feelings about the implications of the DPT for our profession. Quick expansion of the American academic programs will potentially affect the educator pool in a negative way. There may not be enough fully-qualified individuals to fill the education positions. There may be fewer people completing a PhD program because of long-term demands of the professional program. People who graduate with a DPT may feel they have a complete education, endeavoring to perform tasks that demand advanced skills.

Dissention at this stage is like trying to stop the wind, but I would love to here some ideas about how to overcome my perceived impact of the DPT (outside of taking drugs).

Murray

Murray E. Maitland PhD PT

University of South Florida

School of Physical Therapy

12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd

MDC 077

Tampa, Florida, USA

33612-4766

Telephone (813) 974-1666

Fax (813) 974-8915

Email [log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
From: - for physiotherapists in education and practice [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jason Steffe
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 6:50 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Apology for DPT

Physio,

I'd like to apologize. I came out in strong support of the DPT about a year and a half ago. We had some pretty heated arguments at that time (which I participated in).

I just read an article in our local newspaper here in Atlanta GA about a PT school that is about to offer the DPT. Here is a list of the "additional" training which qualifies their graduates to be considered Doctors of Physical Therapy :

Differential Diagnosis

Pharmacology

Radiology

That's it. One semester, 3 classes on Primary Care (Diff Dx i buy, but Pharm and especially Radiology RARELY come into play), nothing to do with clinical skill (treatment I mean). I was naive to believe that schools would use this opportunity to really go for it and develop innovative programs and add another year of school, residencies, etc. Instead we get Pharm, Radi, and Diff Dx, one more semester.

I went through a transitional DPT program and, for me (all of the courses were clinically based, designed to enhance one's clinical treatment ability), the DPT should CLEARLY represent skill beyond the Master's level. To be a Doctor means to me that you are real good at what you do. Unfortunately, many/most schools are choosing the low road and the easy route when it comes to the DPT...many are right on par with this particular program.

I'm sorry to anyone that I offended (particularly Patrick Zerr) during those emails about this topic. You guys were absolutely right. It's a farce.

For anyone keeping score, I did indeed follow through and achieve OCS (I mentioned that I was going to do so to Patrick).

To add insult to injury, my state physical therapy association boasted of their recent legislative achievements in their monthly newsletter(and I quote): "We were instrumental in defeating proposed legislation that would've made sparklers [the hand held firework] legal." and "we defeated a bill that would've repealed the helmet [bicycle helmet I suppose]"

Impressive, isn't it?

Here I am, I went through a DPT post-professionally, passed OCS, passed MTC, readying myself for the APTA's Vision 2020, (autonomous practice), and my state association is spending time and money on sparklers and helmets.

Sorry for the long rant, but I had to get that off my chest. It was therapeutic.

Jason