COINCIDENCE OF VISIONS. The American Physical Therapy Association had a Vision 2020 in place before Northern Illinois University sought one.

Today, the university introduced a new Doctor of Physical Therapy.

“Entry-level physical therapists need 100 credit hours past the bachelor’s degree,” [program coordinator MJ] Blaschak added. “That’s a doctorate.”

As recently as 1980, the university was preparing physical therapists with a baccalaureate. The division of labor between physician and therapist is changing.

“With direct access, a patient can come to the physical therapist as the entry point into the health care system,” Blaschak said. “In Illinois, we can evaluate a patient without a physician referral or diagnosis, but we cannot treat.”

Meanwhile, although the DPT is a professional degree that enables recipients to practice physical therapy and encourages them to continue their education, the degree does not equip them to teach. Professors of physical therapy still need academic degrees, such as the Ph.D. or Ed.D.

Do some of the additional credits produce diagnostic skills, in order that a physical therapist might refer a patient to a surgeon or allergist?