Physical Therapist Students in the United States

Members of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) have attempted to increase the professionalization of physical therapists by raising the educational requirements for entry into the field. I developed a survey and analyzed 919 of 1,172 professional physical therapy student respondents. Degree level was a more important program selection factor for men and DPT students than for women or MPT students. The patterns of program selection used by MPT and DPT students suggested differences between the two regarding their perceptions of the degree of professionalization of physical therapy. Compared to MPT students, DPT students exhibited a program selection pattern that emphasized long-term versus short-term gains which indicated a greater focus on deferred professional rewards. These patterns suggested that DPT students perceive physical therapy to be more professionalized than MPT students.