PT Education Through Time
When did physical therapist education start?
In 1917, Army Surgeon General William Gorgas put physical rehab courses in place at several colleges, which marked the beginning of formal education for what would eventually become physical therapy. The women that graduated from these programs were called reconstruction aides (aka re-aides) and they worked closely with orthopedic doctors during World War I to improve the rehabilitation of injured soldiers. Mary McMillan, the first re-aide appointed in 1918, founded the Physiotherapy Department at Walter Reed General Hospital. Sixteen of the first reconstruction aides formed the American Women’s Physical Therapeutic Association, with Mary McMillan as its first president. This organization is now called the American Physical Therapy Association.
In 1927, New York University (NYU) created the first degree program specifically for physical therapy, a four-year bachelor’s of science.
What happened from that point?
Efforts to create the first 2-year graduate program for physical therapy started in 1960 at Western Reserve University. Unfortunately, federal funding to universities suffered severe cuts due to escalating costs of the Vitenam War. Interesting just how much war shapes things like healthcare, isn’t it? The program ended up being phased out in 1971.
Side Note: Shout out to the first 2 classes that graduated from PTA programs in 1969!
NYU was on the forefront of pioneering again in 1973, when they made a postprofessional PhD for PTs. Basically, this was a program for people who were already PTs to take so the bar could be raised for the whole profession. NYU also had a 14-month certificate program so that people who had a non-PT bachelor’s degree could become PTs. They phased this out in 1980, in favor of requiring the PT bachelor’s.
In 1974, Howard became the first HBCU to start a PT education program, gaining accreditation in 1976. Even though this major barrier was broken 46 years ago, there’s still work to do to make education and healthcare equitable! Remember to continuously put effort into learning and action!
If you’ve made it this far with me on this long, twisted road, thank you! We’ve almost reached the 21st century!
In 1996, Creighton University graduated the first class of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students. Oddly, the first DPT program was around before a master’s degree became the absolute minimum education for entry level PTs in 2002. In January 2016, the DPT officially becomes the minimum formal education requirement for entry level PTs. And that’s where we are now! Most DPT programs have about 2 years of intense classroom work and 1 year of clinical rotations.
"Physical Therapy" by UHartfordCollegeofENHP is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
What about other parts of PT education?
There is always more to learn! Continuing Education (CE) programs were first held at the 1941 annual conference. Now, so much research is being published every single day that it would be impossible to read it all. Luckily, there are people dedicated to rooting out most of the important information and putting it together in the form of a class, module, or seminar for us. CE is particularly useful for staying up to date on treatments for conditions like Covid. Requirements vary by state, but the typical range for PTs is 10 - 20 units per year. Personally, I’m looking forward to entering a profession where CE is required and I hope I find a place to work where other people are enthusiastic about it, too.
Last but not least, a standardized competency exam was established in 1954. Although the exam has changed a lot over the years, this is something PTs still have to pass in order to earn their license to practice. Having a minimum standard set for education and skill largely helps protect clients and patients (you!). When you go see a PT for their services, a license lets you know they’ve demonstrated use of the sound clinical reasoning necessary to safely help you.
If this post wasn’t long enough for you and you’re aching to read more on this topic, I recommend starting with these sources:
https://centennial.apta.org/home/timeline/
http://www.ptcas.org/blog.aspx?blogid=266&id=47244643391
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.457.9158&rep=rep1&type=pdf
