As part of its core purpose to lead physical therapy in the pursuit of academic excellence, ACAPT member institutions provide the gateway into the PT profession by educating doctor of physical therapy students; we want to ensure that gateway includes a more diverse student body and thereby, a more diverse pool of clinicians. 

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a top strategic goal in ACAPT's 2022-2025 strategic plan and member institutions have identified DEI as a top area for improvement.  We are committed to improving society’s health by diversifying our profession to look more like the patient populations we serve.

ACAPT's commitment to DEI is rooted in its creation.  ACAPT was incorporated in 2014 and represents 95% of all U.S. accredited Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs.  ACAPT established a Diversity Task Force in 2014 to define underrepresented minorities (URM) in physical therapist education and develop the strategies for promoting a diverse student population and workforce in physical therapy. 

Underrepresented minorities (URM) 

Well before George Floyd's murder ignited racial justice activism in 2020, ACAPT members adopted a definition for under-represented minorities in October 2013.  The APTA subsequently adopted the ACAPT Diversity Task Force recommendations in 2014 and expanded the URM definition to include all other types of diversity.

ACAPT & APTA define Underrepresented Minorities (URM) in physical therapy education as the racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in physical therapy education relative to their numbers in the general population, as well as individuals from geographically underrepresented areas, lower economic strata, and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.

In partnership with ACAPT, APTA created a video: Why I chose PT?  - featuring PT students & new professionals from diverse backgrounds to profile and encourage other URM students to pursue PT.

Holistic admissions

ACAPT has also helped programs in PTCAS to better navigate and consider data to enhance URM applicant selection – and the ACAPT Diversity Task Force members published several articles about holistic admissions including:

• Holistic review in Doctor of Physical Therapy admissions can lead to enhanced diversity in admitted students (2021)
  
  
• Admissions holistic review of socioeconomic factors fosters diversity in a Doctor of Physical Therapy program (2021)
  
  
• Defining underrepresented minorities (URM) and promoting holistic review admission strategies in physical therapist education (2017)

In 2012, ACAPT membership approved a list of prerequisite courses.  These common core prerequisites were created to provide more flexibility and to encourage more access to DPT schools for URM students.

ACAPT continued commitment and attention to the DEI mission

In recent years, ACAPT has remained focused on DEI beyond the work of Diversity Task Force’s work related to URM diversity:

• Over the past two years, ACAPT has sponsored diversity awards totaling $48,000 for the APTA Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership.
  
  
• The Center for Excellence in Academic Physical Therapy is beginning to collect DEI-related through its January 2022 Institutional Profile Survey and is working with the ACAPT Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Consortium to collect more granular data in the future.
  
  
• In 2020, ACAPT led four listening sessions for faculty, clinicians, administrators and students - and we are still working through the DEI and NEDIC outcomes from those sessions.
  
  
• Created the ACAPT DEI Consortium in January 2019. 
  
  
• In 2019, ACAPT formed the National Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Commission (NEDIC) which will hold a NEDIC Summit in the summer of 2022.   NEDIC and the DEI Consortium are also following up on diversity recruitment and retention recommendations from the Diversity Task Force.
  
  
• Beginning in 2019, partnered with the American Academy of Physical Therapy (AAPT) and the National Black Physical Therapists (NABPT) to sponsor their initiatives.  Through these associations and others, ACAPT is encouraging URM students to pursue a career in academia.
  
  
• See more ACAPT DEI resources here and contact us at acapt@acapt.org with other suggestions.

ACAPT welcomes continuing to closely collaborate with APTA and its Academy of Education, clinicians, faculty, PT schools, PTAs, PTA schools and others so we can all rally and make sure that this time around, the stubborn issues and challenges of DEI begin to effect positive change.  Contact acapt@acapt.org for your collaborative ideas.

The road is long and difficult, because the problem is complex and systemic, but nonetheless, ACAPT as the leader in academic physical therapy will stay the course until our goals and objectives are achieved.