Ron, Thanks for sending the quote from the article. It states:
"State OT associations, backed by their national association, continued their campaign to limit a traditional area of physical therapy practice - ADL's and self-care. OT organizations argue that PT's have recently entered these areas in an attempt to broaden PT's scope of practice. PT education and practice, however, have long supported these areas of PT." I think the issue is a bit more complicated than this sentence suggests. The argument made by many states and AOTA is that the expansion of the scope of practice of physical therapy to place new emphasis on functional training in self care and in home, community and work reintegration should clarify that the primary focus of physical therapy intervention is on physical movement and mobility. Many health professions promote or facilitate "functional independence" through their interventions with consumers. The term "function" has many meanings. Physical therapists have traditionally focused on motor impairments and related functional limitations, with an approach to intervention based on therapeutic exercise. Occupational therapists assess all dimensions of the patient's functional skills---physical, cognitive, sensorimotor, and psychosocial--- and use purposeful activity or interventions to maximize an individual's level of independence within the context of the patient's home, work, and community environment. AOTA believes that it is important to clarify the distinct role of each profession in state practice acts. A profession's domain or scope of practice is based on the components of the scope being included historically in educational preparation and clinical application within the profession. Expansion of the physical therapy scope of practice to place new emphasis on functional training in self care and on home, community and work reintegration should clarify that the primary focus of physical therapy intervention is on physical movement and mobility. Additional dimensions of function which are addressed integrally as a part of occupational therapy education, training and practice, such as cognition, perception and context, are not a focus of physical therapy preparation. AOTA is committed to monitoring this issue in the states and working with state OT associations. Chuck <<< [EMAIL PROTECTED] 10/12 12:18p >>> Hello All: It's ironic how things happen because this PM (the same day I posted the message about the Stroke Magazine article), I was given the following from PT Magazine's October 2001 edition, page 29. WHAT FOLLOWS IS THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE IN ITS ENTIRETY................. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// State OT associations, backed by their national association, continued their campaign to limit a traditional area of physical therapy practice - ADL's and self-care. OT organizations argue that PT's have recently entered these areas in an attempt to broaden PT's scope of practice. PT education and practice, however, have long supported these areas of PT. This is a battle that is taking place in both the legislative and regulatory arenas. It is being used to oppose PT legislative initiatives and modifications to regulations governing PT practice. Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi and New Hampshire all addressed a variety of OT-related legislation in 2001, including its inclusion in workers' compensation programs, creation of independent OT boards, and implementation of sweeping changes in OT practice acts. Forecast: APTA is monitoring this push to introduce OT practice act legislation in state legislatures around the country. The Association will continue to work with state chapters to ensure that, if this type of legislation passes, that will establish a scope of practice that accurately reflects the education and clinical training of the OT. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// If you ever doubt that there is REAL competition between OT and PT then this should help change your mind. I guess the real question is what, as both individuals and an organization, can/should we do to address the issues raised by this article. Ron ******************** Unsubscribe by sending a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's body, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist ------ OTnow messages are archived at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] (and) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] ********rC*********** ******************** Unsubscribe by sending a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's body, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist ------ OTnow messages are archived at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] (and) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] ********rC***********
