There is no shortage of challenging issues facing the physical therapy profession today. From constant changes in reimbursement to the plight for direct access to the competition from physician-owned physical therapy services, PTs have a lot more on their minds than just their clinical duties. These challenges were discussed in length at the recent meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association’s (APTA) Private Practice Section (PPS) in Miami. A common thread throughout the discussions was the notion that PTs need to adopt a new mission to encourage leadership within the profession to face the challenges.

One way to create future physical therapy leaders is to create more fellowship and residency opportunities, and to encourage PTs to enter them. Currently, there are 39 clinical residency and fellowship programs nationwide that are accredited by the APTA. While this is a good start, this number is relatively low compared to the fact that there were 205 accredited physical therapy programs in 2004.1 Fellowship and residency programs create PTs who are clinically advanced in specific treatments and can become decision-makers for treatment protocols and patient care. The demand for PTs in the workplace may be one of the factors that are deterring therapists from joining fellowship or residency programs after they graduate. However, the advantages of further clinical education should be highly promoted.

There also needs to be a push to help PTs succeed in private practice. The “Autonomy in Physical Therapy Practice” session at the APTA PPS conference presented critical viewpoints about how current private practitioners are key change agents to integrate doctoral-prepared PTs into profitable physical therapy businesses. The speakers presented their research findings on how other professions integrate new-hires into practice and provide paths for leadership. According to the research, most physicians, dentists, and lawyers hire colleagues as “associates,” not “employees.” New associates are often hired with an incentive to own part of the practice and become a full partner in the future. In most cases within physical therapy, practice owners hire employees, with no concrete plan to promote them to a partner level. It is important that the physical therapy profession defines standards for private practice so that PTs can join at associate levels and be future leaders in their practices.

In addition to creating a path for future leaders, it is also important to decide what type of leader will help the physical therapy profession meet its goals of autonomy and business success. I recently attended a lecture featuring Patricia Sellers, editor at large of Fortune magazine. Sellers oversees Fortune’s annual 50 Most Powerful Women in Business issue, and she has interviewed some of the world’s most influential leaders (both men and women). She spoke about two types of leadership styles: people who view leadership as a “jungle gym,” where they handle a complex web of duties that branch out from one another; and others who view leadership as a “ladder,” where they focus on one goal and one straight path to achieve it.

It is up to you to decide what type of leader you will be and what you will contribute to your discipline. It is important for you to encourage leadership among your staff and colleagues at all levels to ensure that the profession heads toward and meets its goals.

Reference
1. Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Ed, Physical Therapists. Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor. Available at: www.bls.gov/oco/ocos080.htm. Accessed November 1, 2006.