Musing on Professionalism

Abstract

Are you a professional? This might seem like an easy question to respond to at first, but we really don't know unless we ask ourselves. This is exactly what the American Physical Therapy Association would like us to do by taking the self assessment available on their Web site.1 Training, education level, skill, and behavior are all key elements of professionalism. It is more than simply being an authority in your field. It is possible to be a highly motivated, hardworking individual who is an authority in the field, yet lacks professionalism. To be a true professional requires much more. The road to professionalization started in 1881 when the Sargent School in Boston instituted a formalized training program.2 However, it would take more than 30 years before the first physical therapist would become licensed as it was widely believed in the medical community that physical rehabilitation provided little or no benefit to those with physical disabilities.2 It wasn't until after World War I and the return of injured and disabled soldiers that the influence and success demonstrated by the Allies in rehabilitative practices was recognized, and American doctors couldn't help but take note of the value of the field. Further advancement was realized through the efforts of the United States Medical Corps, a small group of orthopedists and 1,200 reconstructive aides, who committed themselves to helping the disabled.2 For the first time in the history of the profession, physical therapy began to gain positive recognition. We acquired momentum in the quest for professionalism with the founding of our first professional organization, later to be known as the American Physical Therapy Association, on January 15, 1921.2 Following that was the printing of the first Code of Ethics and Discipline in the Physiotherapy Review in 1935.2 These events represented important strides in the professionalization process and helped bring our field to its present-day standards. Most of us can appreciate professionalism when we see it, but we can't always identify what makes it such.3 I wonder though, how we are viewed by society now as opposed to physical therapists in the past? Our perception of ourselves and how others envision us may be entirely different. Whether speaking, writing, or through subtle interactions with body language, we are constantly being analyzed by someone. Bezner4 asserts, Decision making as an adult and as a professional is often guided by our adopted values. Consider Carson coming to physical therapy for the first time following a shoulder injury. He is 10 minutes early for his appointment, but Rhonda, the physical therapist student who will be evaluating him, is 20 minutes late. She is flustered, does not have his chart, and has not looked it over beforehand. As she leads him to a treatment booth they pass her clinical instructor (CI), Susan. Rhonda apologizes for her tardiness, but Susan waves her away. Inside the treatment booth Rhonda asks Bob what treatment he has received so far. Bob, puzzled, states that he hasn't had any. That is what he is there for now. Rhonda leaves the booth to search for his chart while Susan stands outside of the open door to the room talking on the phone to a physician. Rhonda finally locates Bob's chart and sees that an evaluation has been ordered. After completing a 20-minute evaluation, she tells Bob that he needs to come back 3 times a week for 12 weeks. Bob has to ask what the treatment will be because Rhonda doesn't offer that information. He is told they will work on range of motion. Bob then asks if he will be healed and able to do his job as an electrician. Rhonda stammers that she doesn't know. She is only a student on her last affiliation. Bob, shocked, says he thought she was his therapist. Meanwhile, Susan finally finishes her phone conversations and enters the treatment booth at the end of the evaluation. As he leaves that day, Bob wonders if he should seek another means of treatment for his shoulder. …