Professional Practice in Physical Therapy: Course Content (MSPP-733)

1. The physical therapist as professional
 What does professional mean?
 Autonomy, self-regulation of ethical standards, and accountability
 Self-regulation of ethical standards
 Ozar’s models of professionalism as applied to physical therapy
 Physical therapy and concepts of professionalism
 Individual professionalism—professionalism without professions?
2. The history of a profession
 Social history, Pioneers of physical therapy
 Goals of physical therapy professional organizations, Ethical issues
 Professional recognition, The world confederation for physical therapy
3. Contemporary practice issues
 Perspective of the profession, Perspective of the practitioner
 Direct access issue, Perspective of the profession
 Legislation affecting direct access to physical therapy in selected states
 Components of a practice pattern, Broadening the practice context
 The APTA and political action
4. The physical therapist as Patient/client manager
 Patient/client management, Evaluation and diagnosis
 Use of the term physical therapy diagnosis
 Diagnosis as clinical decision making, Prognosis

 Discharge planning and discontinuance of care, Discharge planning
 Outcomes, Clinical decision making, Referral relationships
 Technological advances, Interpersonal relationships
 The participation method assessment instrument (pmai) in physical therapy
 Ethical and legal issues
 Code of ethics and guide for professional conduct
 Managed care and fidelity
5. The physical therapist as Consultant
 Consultation in business
 Client needs met by physical therapy consultants
 Building a consulting business
 Consulting fees, The consulting process
 The skills of a good consultant
 Trust in the consultant/client relationship
 Ethical and legal issues in consultation
 Contract law, Components of a consulting agreement
 APTA code of ethics and guide for professional conduct
6. The physical therapist as Critical inquirer
 The history of critical inquiry
 Evidence-based medicine
 The foundation for physical therapy
 Clinical research networks
 Steps in applying evidence-based medicine, Outcomes research
 Database sources of evidence for practice
 Whose responsibility is research, Criteria for critical inquiry
 Roles of the staff physical therapist in critical inquiry
 Application and critique of research, Publication of case reports
 Guidelines for critiquing research reports, Collaboration in clinical research
 Assessment of new concepts and technology
 Ethical and legal issues in critical inquiry

7. The physical therapist as Educator
 The history of physical therapy education
 Contemporary educational roles of the physical therapist
 Teaching opportunities in clinical education
 Criteria for clinical physical therapy faculty
 Criteria for clinical physical therapy faculty
 Academic teaching opportunities
 Theories of teaching and learning in professional education
 Continuing competence, Academic integrity and Vulnerability of students
8. The physical therapist as Administrator
 The history of physical therapy administration
 Contemporary physical therapy administration
 Patient/client management, Billing for physical therapy services
 CPT codes commonly used by physical therapists
 Documentation & general rules of documentation
 Direction and supervision of support personnel, First-line management
 Budget responsibilities, operations responsibilities, human resource
responsibilities, information responsibilities,

 Midlevel managers and chief executive officers
 Leadership
 The administrator’s role and conflict of interest
9. Management in health care
 Becoming a manager, Transitioning from patient care to management , Mentoring
 Large health-care organizations, Management of other health-care settings
 Mid-level managers, People management, A manager’s sense of perspective, And
industriousness, Horizontal communication, Vertical communication
 Other contemporary people management issues, The nature of work , Workforce
diversity, Racial/ethnic diversity, General gaps , Financial issues
 Implementation of plans , Managers and patients ,Managers in health care
10. Legal and ethical responsibilities
 Rights and duties , Remedies , Legal concerns of managers , Contracts , Torts
 Professional malpractice, Managers and harm to patients.
 Employment laws, Background checks and other credentials , Patient consent
 Patient confidentiality Bill of patients’ rights , Duties of organizations
 Managerial ethics , Conflicts of interest
11. Communication responsibilities
 Oral communication, Formal meetings , Job interview sessions
 Telephone communications, Conducting business meetings , Group presentations
 Teleconferences, Written communication , Memoranda and letters
 E-mails, Posted announcements , Reports , Manuals, Proposals
 Web pages and other publications , Communication and health literacy
 Communication hurdles , Overcoming communication hurdles
 The message , The method, Listening , The grapevine
12. Professional development, Competence, and expertise

 The professional development continuum: from competence to expertise
 Activities that promote professional development
 Evaluation of competence and professional development
 Mandatory continuing education. Reexamination, Professional portfolio
 Professional development planning, Possible evaluators of professional
 Career advancement, Organizational impact on professional development

13. Future challenges in physical Therapy

 Physical therapy’s moral mission, The individual realm
 The societal realm, Professionalism and the physical therapist