Building the Physical Therapy Workforce for an Aging America

Abstract

Background and Purpose. A landmark 2008 Institute of Medicine report concluded that the health care workforce is not prepared to deliver effective and efficient health care services to older adults, and the numbers of health care practitioners specializing in geriatrics are insufficient to meet the needs of this population. The purposes of this paper are to: (1) advocate for the use of essential competencies developed by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Section on Geriatrics (now known as the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy) to guide curriculum development for physical therapist (PT) and physical therapist assistant (PTA) education programs; (2) describe key modifiable barriers to educating PTs and PTAs to meet the health care needs of older adults in the US; and (3) recommend curriculum strategies and enhancements to achieve student readiness to deliver effective and efficient services to older adults at completion of their education. Position and Rationale. Similar to graduates in other health professions, graduating PTs and PTAs are under-prepared to deliver effective and efficient physical therapy services to older adults. The Essential Competencies in the Care of Older Adults at the Completion of the Entry-level Physical Therapist Professional Program of Study, and emerging PTA documents, should guide curriculum development and assessment efforts. Course work, including clinical education, must carefully and deliberately include sufficient and targeted learning activities to ensure students acquire the requisite knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Faculty attitudes must convey value for the impact physical therapy can have in achieving optimal aging. Students should interact with a variety of older adults, from fit to frail, including those with multimorbidity. Discussion and Conclusion. Since older adults will comprise the largest percentage of patients/clients across most practice settings, all PT and PTA graduates must be competent in their care. To enhance PT and PTA education, we suggest a curricular approach that includes important characteristics of the educational setting, practice expectations and competency domains, and critical curricular themes. Modifiable factors influencing decisions regarding geriatric-focused curricular content are highlighted. Through the explicit and concerted efforts outlined in this paper, we believe that the physical therapy profession will be better prepared to meet the workforce needs created by an aging America.