What is the rationale for having professional (entry-level) DPT programs?
The rationale for awarding the DPT is based on at least four factors, among others: 1) the level of practice inherent to the patient/client management model in the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice requires considerable breadth and depth in educational preparation, a breadth and depth not easily acquired within the time constraints of the typical MPT program; 2) societal expectations that the fully autonomous healthcare practitioner with a scope of practice consistent with the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice be a clinical doctor; 3) the realization of the profession’s goals in the coming decades, including direct access, “physician status” for reimbursement purposes, and clinical competence consistent with the preferred outcomes of evidence-based practice, will require that practitioners possess the clinical doctorate (consistent with medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, and podiatry); and 4) many existing professional (entry-level) MPT programs alre
