Task Force on Establishing and Sustaining a Culture of Research in Academic Physical Therapy
Purpose
The purpose of this Task Force is to provide the tools that physical therapy programs can use to establish and sustain a research culture.
Objectives
To achieve its purpose, the Task Force will:
- Review the recent research-intensive programs in physical therapy (RIPPT) survey. Create follow-up surveys if necessary.
- Conduct a needs assessment.
- Conduct a gap analysis to understand the barriers for institutionalizing a research culture in every program regardless of Carnegie classification.
- Identify structures and resources necessary for programs to efficiently and effectively adapt and sustain a research culture.
- Examine the feasibility requirements for establishing and sustaining the culture and practice.
- The task force is committed to ensuring that its work will be rooted in principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. By integrating DEI considerations into our work, we aim to address systemic disparities, remove barriers, and foster an environment where all individuals, regardless of their background, have equal access to opportunities and representation within the field of physical therapy.
Outcomes
By following the above objectives, and any others discovered, this Task Force will create standardized resources for the use by all institutions, which shall include:
- Create a concept that connects to the ACAPT Excellence Framework as it relates to a culture of scholarship and productivity.
- Model structures, resources, and/or policies and procedures that can be utilized by administrative faculty to implement or instigate changes.
Composition
The Task Force shall not exceed 10 people. The Task Force will seek to have:
- At least two physical therapist faculty with experience as a Dean or Associate Dean of Research
- Experienced Program Directors / Department Chairs from different institutions with varied Carnegie classifications.
- A balance of research and teaching institutions.
- Equal representation of academicians and clinicians.
- Representation from diverse geographic and practice settings.
The Chair’s primary responsibility will be to ensure the Task Force is meeting its charge as outlined in this document and within the timeline defined. The Chair will meet quarterly with the Institute Chair and Vice Chair, providing written progress reports on the work of the Task Force.
The Vice Chair’s primary responsibility will be to serve as the secretary of the Task Force whose responsibilities include polling for meetings, developing the agenda with the Chair, circulating minutes to Task Force members, staff and the Institute Chair and Vice Chair, and delivering all documents and work products to ACAPT for archiving.
- To ensure diverse engagement and equitable opportunities, no person serving on the Task Force may be serving on another of ACAPT’s volunteer leadership groups unless permission is sought and granted in advance by the Board of Directors.
- The Task Forces are accountable to their Institute Chair and Vice Chair, who are accountable to the ACAPT Board of Directors.
- All who are appointed to the Task Force will receive a letter acknowledging their appointment that may support promotion and/or tenure.
Timeline
- Task force members will meet or communicate at least monthly via conference calls and emails to review tasks completed and next steps to meet project milestones.
- Task force members may meet at CSM in person or virtually. The budget will determine if/what resources are available to support such a meeting.
- The Institute Chair and Vice Chair will conduct a virtual meeting quarterly with all task force chairs and vice chairs within that Institute to evaluate progress on their charge and to address any barriers or potential changes needed to their charge in response to changes in the profession.
- The task force will submit information to the Institute Chair and Vice Chair that may reflect their activity during the year and reported in ACAPT’s annual report, which is created in August and disseminated to members electronically in September.
- Task forces should be prepared to discuss their activity with ACAPT members at the Physical Therapy Education Leadership Conference (ELC) during a networking event created for the Institute.
- Task forces are expected to conclude their work by December of the calendar year in which they were created.
- If a task force needs more time than the calendar year for which they were created, the Chair of the task force will notify the Institute Chair. Together, they will evaluate what is causing the delay, evaluate if there are new circumstances informing the work not previously identified, and if there are additional resources needed. If the need for additional time is determined necessary by the Institute Chair, they will submit a request to the Board for an extension, to include how that may impact resources. The Board will make an assessment based on the charge, needed outcomes, and resources available and either extend the work for a limited time, expand the size of the task force to increase productivity to meet the charge and timeline, or disband the task force.
- The final work product(s) will reside on ACAPT’s website and shall be an ACAPT product.
Members
Chair: TBD
Vice Chair: TBD
- Jeff Houk
- Joanne S. Katz, PT, DPT, PhD - SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
- Merrill Landers
- Mark Lyle, PT, PhD - Emory University
- Stephanie A. Miller, PT, PhD - University of Indianapolis, Krannert School of Physical Therapy
- Bryan O'Halloran, PT, DPT, DScPT - St Joseph's University Philadelphia
- Darcy Reisman, PR, PhD, FAPTA - University of Delaware
- Brittany Samulski, PT, DPT, PhD - Old Dominion University
- Caio Sarmento, PhD, California State University, Fresno
- Elke Schaumberg, DPT, PhD - Franklin Pierce University and Johnson and Wales University
- Chris Sebelski, PT, DPT, PhD - Saint Louis University
- Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley
- Soo Yeon Sun, PT, PhD - Alvernia University
- Gregory Thielman, PT, MSPT, EdD, ATC, CSRS - Saint Joseph's University
- Kelly Westlake, PT, PhD - University of Maryland School of Medicine
- Diane Wrisley, PT, PhD - College of St Mary