Trend Toward Doctors in Physical Therapy

The Increasing Role of Physical Therapists

Physical therapists have many responsibilities these days. In addition to assisting patients with injury recovery and with mobility issues, physical therapists also act as educators, administrators, and consultants. Their expanding role in the healthcare system has resulted in the need for continued education.

There have been many advancements in the field of physical therapy over the past few years as well, including technological advancements and medical developments. Without additional education and training, current physical therapists will be unable to keep up with the latest techniques and equipment and will be unable to stay competitive or competent in their field.

Physical Therapists as Doctors in Vero Beach

As a result of their expanded role, there has been a general push for physical therapists to become doctors. For example, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) recently introduced their Vision 2020 program, which would require that physical therapy can only be provided by doctors of physical therapy by the year 2020. If this were to happen, it would require entry-level physical therapists to get a doctorate degree. It would also require current physical therapists to get a doctorate degree.

We are very pleased and proud to have Dr. Lisa Weiss is our own resident doctor of physical therapy at Florida Spine.

The APTA also hopes to see physical therapy become a more evidence-based practice in which clinical proficiency, up-to-date research, practice management and patient values all make it into health care policy decisions.

Improving Legitimacy

Physical therapists have been considered legitimate in the medical community for some time now — although this wasn’t always the case. By requiring a doctorate degree, the physical therapy profession will gain much more credibility as well as the recognition as a serious medical profession that it deserves to have within the healthcare industry.

As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace and evidence-based practice becomes more available, a doctorate-level study will be required to be effective as a physical therapist. Because of this, it’s only a matter of time before a doctorate degree will be required for physical therapy, after which physical therapists can finally be referred to as actual doctors.

If you are in need of physical therapy in Vero Beach, then be sure to contact us at Florida Spine to schedule an appointment today.