Positioning Academic Physical Therapy for Excellence Through Contemporary Accreditation Standards
Authors: Deusinger Susan S. , Hinman Martha R. , Peterson Cathy 
Published: April 2018

Background and Purpose.

The specialized accreditation process governed by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) exists to assure the quality of professional education in physical therapy. Collectively, the ideas encumbered in CAPTE's Standards and Required Elements represent contemporary expectations of the profession for its own education. The status of “accredited,” then, serves as a public statement of success in meeting these expectations. Over the years, because the CAPTE became the sole agency recognized to evaluate physical therapist education, the profession has adjusted its expectations in response to changes in the health care environment, scientific evidence for practice, visibility and effectiveness in the academic environment, and advocacy by multiple stakeholders. These adjustments demonstrate the dynamic nature of accreditation and the power of professional testimony to strengthen the process and outcomes of CAPTE's work. The purpose of this article was to advocate for modifications to three elements of standard 4 that address the qualifications of the faculty and leadership of physical therapist education programs. The case will be made that, as currently written, these three elements may be constraining the routes by which programs can show compliance with expectations of excellence in physical therapy education.

Position and Rationale.

Upon this historical foundation, further change in accreditation expectations will undoubtedly occur. Assuring the appropriate direction of such change is the responsibility of all stakeholders (ie, practitioners, scientists, teaching faculty, and consumers). In this article, we have drawn upon our collective academic experience in diverse environments to propose that the CAPTE reconsiders the requirements that 1) all core faculty possess a doctoral degree without also requiring other types of formal advanced training beyond the clinical doctorate degree (standard 4A), 2) the program director must hold an academic doctorate (standard 4G), and 3) at least 50% of core faculty must possess academic doctorates (standard 4K). We assert that the current requirements for faculty and leadership qualifications undervalue legitimate qualifications and expertise that would otherwise enhance academic physical therapy and would be well aligned with CAPTE's new core mission “to ensure and advance excellence in physical therapy education.”
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Discussion and Conclusion.

Professional responsibility and public accountability are the bedrocks of accreditation. While fully embracing these bedrocks, the accreditation processes of other doctoring professions preserve a measure of institutional prerogatives to determine how best to meet the quality standards of the discipline while fulfilling their unique missions. We seek revision of three elements included in standard 4 to avoid being overly restrictive and to reduce the risk of unintended consequences occurring that are not in the best interests of the profession nor the public we serve. We abide by Atul Gwande's proposition that “Betterment is perpetual labor.”
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If we are truly committed to seeking excellence in physical therapy education, we must continuously work toward ways to improve the standards used to evaluate how we educate the next generation(s) of physical therapists.