Future Challenges in Physical
Therapy
The physical therapy profession has its roots in rehabilitation of those
injured by national calamities, epidemic diseases, and wars.
Andrew A. Guccione, E. Mark Goldstein, and Steven Elliott
The profession grew out of a national need to alleviate human suffering, and
it continues to be recognized for the humanistic qualities of its members.
Andrew A. Guccione, E. Mark Goldstein, and Steven Elliott
To do less would betray the physical therapy profession’s moral mission, a
mission aimed at assisting in the achievement of optimal human function.
Andrew A. Guccione, E. Mark Goldstein, and Steven Elliott
Physical Therapy Moral Mission
The practice of physical therapy has undergone dramatic changes since the
profession’s beginnings in the early twentieth century.
Consequences of World War I
The polio epidemic of the 1950s
THE FUTURE IN THREE REALMS
The Individual Realm
The Institutional Realm
The Societal Realm
FUTURE ISSUES IN PHYSICAL THERAPY
1. Effects of managed care on professional relationship with patients
2. Focus on reimbursement
3. Transition to a “doctoring profession”
4. Effective interventions and validated evaluation tools
5. Autonomous practice
6. Impact of technology
7. Scholarship in professionalism and ethics
8. Professional relationship with other PTs and health care professionals
9. Changing role of the PT in society
10. Changing role of the PT in organizations
11. Health care policy and the health care system
12. Effects of physician ownership of a physical therapy practice and self-
referral
13. Disparities in available health care resources
14. Disparities in the availability of health care information
15. Increased emphasis on lifestyle-induced diseases
16. Global political issues and international economics
17. Role of complementary therapies
18. Cultural competence( is the ability to understand and interact effectively
with people from other cultures)
19. Lack of diversity in the physical therapy profession
20. Conflicts between professional ethics and organizational or societal values
Four-Component Model of
Professional Behavior Component
Elements
Professional sensitivity
Professional judgment
Professional motivation
Professional conduct
Professional sensitivity Recognition of professional issues, problems, and
situations; ability to interpret professional situations and project
consequences of alternative actions.
Professional judgment Ability to make appropriate professional decisions
based on professional norms and standards and society’s legitimate
expectations of professional behavior.
Professional motivation Ability to prioritize professional values appropriately
in relation to personal, clinical, organizational, or other values.
Professional conduct or Ability to implement professional judgment, derived
from courage character, implementation skills, and specific contextual
knowledge
