American Physical Therapy Association

American Physical Therapy Association

Motto	"Move Forward. Physical Therapy Brings Motion to Life."
Formation	1921
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	Virginia
Location	United States
Membership	>90,586 (as of 2014)
Official language	English
President	Sharon L. Dunn, PT, PhD, OCS
Website	http://www.apta.org/

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is the official member organization of the profession in the United States.

History

American physical therapists formed their first professional association in 1921, called the American Women's Physical Therapeutic Association. Led by President Mary McMillan, an executive committee of elected officers governed the Association, which included 274 charter members. By the end of the 1930s, the Association changed its name to the American Physiotherapy Association. Men were admitted, and membership grew to just under 1,000.

With the advent of World War II and a nationwide polio epidemic during the 1940s and 1950s, physical therapists were in greater demand than ever before. The Association's membership swelled to 8,000, and the number of physical therapy education programs across the US increased from 16 to 39.

By the late 1940s, the Association had changed its name to the American Physical Therapy Association, hired a full-time staff, and opened its first office in New York City. A House of Delegates representing chapter members was established to set APTA policies. The House elected a Board of Directors, previously the Executive Committee, to manage the Association. In addition, Sections were created to promote and develop specific objectives of the profession. The first two Sections were the School and Private Practice sections.

In the 1960s, APTA membership reached almost 15,000, and the number of education programs nationwide grew to 52. Now headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, APTA represents approximately 76,000 members throughout the United States. A national professional organization, APTA's goal is to foster advancements in physical therapy practice, research, and education. Currently 199 institutions offer physical therapy education programs and 234 institutions offer physical therapist assistant education programs in the United States. These numbers will change significantly in the coming years to encompass 9 developing PT programs and 43 developing PTA programs.

Lobby work

The APTA advocates on behalf of the profession and for issues which impact the health and well being of society such as; funding for health research, funding for an adequate health care workforce and for health care reform to improve access to health care and ensure adequate funding for the provision of physical therapy.

Combined Sections Meeting

The Association holds an annual Combined Sections Meeting that is attended by physical therapists from around the United States. Informally known as "CSM", it is named the combined sections meeting because all of the sections of the APTA come together to meet at this time.

Past and future meetings

Year	Dates	Venue	Attendance
2002	February –	Boston, MA
2003	February –	Tampa, FL
2004	February –	Nashville, TN
2005	February –	New Orleans, LA
2006	February –	San Diego, CA
2007	February –	Boston, MA
2008	February –	Nashville, TN
2009	February 9–12	Las Vegas, NV
2010	February 17–20	San Diego, CA
2011	February 9–12	New Orleans, LA
2012	February 8–11	Chicago, IL
2013	January 21–24	San Diego, CA	9,346 (3,108 students)
2014	February 3–6	Las Vegas, NV
2015	February 4–7	Indianapolis, IN
2016	February 17–20	Anaheim, CA
2017	February 15–18	San Antonio, TX
2018	February 21–28	New Orleans, LA

See also

• Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy
• Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association
• Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy

External links

• American Physical Therapy Association
• APTA Consumer Site