Task Force to Prepare Prospective Students for the Academic Rigor of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) School

Purpose 

• Develop strategies for DPT programs to advance recommendations from: Deusinger, S and Landers, M. Storm Clouds on the Horizon: The 3 Perils of Unconstrained Academic Growth in Physical Therapist Education, Physical Therapy, Volume 102, Issue 7, July 2022.
  • Explore methods DPT programs use to partner with undergraduate institutions to advance prerequisite preparation in order to enhance the qualifications of applicants.
  • Explore the range of DPT programs’ student support services tailored toward contemporary needs of diverse cohorts.
  • Investigate best practices in entry-level education that prepare graduates for primary care roles in outpatient, urgent care and emergency settings, and in prevention and health promotion initiatives.

Objectives

To achieve its purpose, the Task Force will:

• Conduct discussions with DPT programs that have established relationships with external undergraduate programs, including undergraduate pipeline programs.
• Conduct discussions with DPT programs regarding both successful and unsuccessful student support services tailored towards diverse student cohorts.
• Identify and conduct discussions with other health-professional programs (medicine, veterinarian medicine, optometry, etc) to discern current methods and practices relevant to preparing prospective students for graduate-level professional programs.
• Review the primary care models used by the military and Kaiser of Northern California model, and review  the APTA’s "A Perspective: Exploring the Roles of Physical Therapists on Primary Care Teams” report and PT practices based on health & wellness models.
• Review the Biden administration’s National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS) launched in July 2022.
• 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 identified, this Task Force will create resources for use by all institutions, which shall include:

• Models that DPT programs can use to partner with undergraduate institutions to advance prerequisite preparation in order to enhance the qualifications of applicants.
• Recommendations for DPT programs’ student support services tailored toward contemporary needs of diverse cohorts.
• Best practices for entry-level education that prepare graduates for primary care roles in outpatient, urgent care and emergency settings, and in prevention and health promotion initiatives.

Composition

The Task Force shall not exceed 10 people.  The Task Force will seek to have:

• Representation from a student support services member from an ACAPT institution.
• Equal representation of academicians and clinicians.
• A student representative from or identified by the APTA Student Assembly Board of Directors.
• Representatives from research-intensive institutions. 
• Representatives from large and small institutions.
• Representation from diverse geographic and practice settings.
• Advisory: representatives from other graduate-level health professions, undergraduate pre-professional programs, undergraduate academic advisors.

The Chair’s primary responsibility will be to ensure the Task Force is meeting its charge as outlined above 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 will 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: Benjamin M Rogozinski, DPT - Emory University 

Vice Chair: Cheryl J. Hill, BSPT, MS, PT, DPT, PhD - Nova Southeastern University 

• Bindu Balakrishnan, PhD - University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences
• DèShawn Fairbairn, PT - ATI Physical Therapy
• Jamie L. Greco, PT, DPT, EdD - Duke University
• Cheryl J. Hill, BSPT, MS, PT, DPT, PhD - Nova Southeastern University
• Jamie Kronenberg, PT, DPT, SCS - Ohio State University
• M. Karen Mueller, PT, DPT, PhD NBC-HWC - Northern Arizona University
• Michael O'Hara - Temple University
• Adrienne N. Pinckney, PT, DPT, PhD - Widener University
• Benjamin M Rogozinski, DPT - Emory University