Physical Therapy Continuing Education Course Standards

The Federation of State Board of Physical Therapy has adopted the following standards and criteria for purposes of evaluating physical therapy continuing education courses or continuing competence activities (including Physical Therapist continuing education courses, symposium/conferences, workshops, seminar, degree coursework, examinations, assessments, residencies, fellowships, certificate courses, online courses, and DVDs/videos.) The North American Sports Medicine Institute meets all criteria established by the FSBPT for a quality PT continuing education course experience.

FSBPT STANDARD: ADMINISTRATION

The physical therapy continuing education provider has established processes for developing, administering and documenting the activity.

• The Physical Therapy continuing education provider identifies and provides a supportive learning environment, the physical, material, and technological resources necessary to support the activity.
• Physical Therapy continuing education documentation is maintained of the processes used to develop, administer, deliver, conduct, and assess the activity and participants.
• The Physical Therapy continuing education provider maintains cumulative records with appropriate security for a period of five years.

CRITERIA – REQUIRED

• The Physical Therapy continuing education course provider identifies and provides a supportive learning environment, the physical, material, and technological resources necessary to support the activity.
• Physical Therapy continuing education documentation is maintained of the processes used to develop, administer, deliver, conduct, and assess the activity and participants.
• The Physical Therapy continuing education course provider maintains cumulative records with appropriate security for a period of five years.

FSBPT STANDARD: APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE

The physical therapy continuing provider uses language that does not show bias or cultural insensitivity.

CRITERIA – REQUIRED

• The Physical Therapy continuing education provider certifies the use of current terminology within the activity that does not show bias or cultural insensitivity.

FSBPT STANDARD: NON-DISCRIMINATORY

The physical therapy continuing education activity is available to all appropriate participants without unlawful discrimination.

CRITERIA – REQUIRED

• The Physical Therapy continuing education provider certifies that the activity is available to all appropriate participants without unlawful discrimination.

FSBPT STANDARD: COPYRIGHT AND DISCLOSURE

Each physical therapy continuing education course activity provides copyright and disclosure information.

• Copyright permissions of materials developed by others are identified on all audio-visual and activity materials.
• Copyrights of materials that are authored by the developers or instructors are identified on all audio-visual and course materials.
• Disclosure information regarding potential conflicts of interest and financial gain is identified and supplied to potential participants.

CRITERIA – REQUIRED

• The Physical Therapy continuing education provider must certify that appropriate permissions of copyright materials have been obtained, all copyright materials have been identified, and disclosures have been made.

FSBPT STANDARD: CONTENT

The content within the physical therapy continuing education course activity is relevant to the physical therapy profession and the designated audience(s).

CRITERIA – REQUIRED

• Content of the Physical Therapy continuing education course activity must relate to the scope of practice of physical therapy as defined by the FSBPT Standards of Competence, NPTE Content Outline, American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Guide to Physical Therapist Practice, PT and PTA Normative Models for Education, American Physical Therapy Association Ethics Core Documents, descriptions of Specialty practice, state practice acts and regulations, The Model Practice Act and/or other relevant regulatory documents or other generally accepted professional standards.
• Content within the Physical Therapy continuing education course activity is relevant to the targeted audience(s).

FSBPT STANDARD: CONTENT ANALYSIS

One goal of the physical therapy continuing education certification program is to create a reproducible, objective system of evaluating content that is comparable for all activity types. Content is scored based on the topics covered by the activity, the level of coverage, the emphasis given to each of the categories of learning demand (reflective of the depth of the material), and the total time involved in the activity.

FSBPT STANDARD: INSTRUCTOR/DEVELOPER/STAFF QUALIFICATIONS

The developers and deliverers of the physical therapy continuing education course activity have documented experience, education, and training to allow attendees to meet the activity objectives.

CRITERIA – REQUIRED

• The Physical Therapy continuing education developers and deliverers of the activity have documented experience, education, and training to allow attendees to meet the activity objectives.

FSBPT STANDARD: INFORMATION AND MATERIALS

The physical therapy continuing education course provider furnishes clear, complete information to potential learners about the activity format and content, biography of the activity deliverer/presenter, and participant requirements.

CRITERIA – REQUIRED

• The Physical Therapy continuing education provider supplies sufficient information to allow prospective participants to judge the value and appropriateness of the activity.

FSBPT STANDARD: ENGAGEMENT

The physical therapy continuing education course activity fosters the participant’s learning and professional engagement through reflection, interaction, participation, and/or contribution to the profession and its body of knowledge.

CRITERIA – REQUIRED

Required to have one of the criteria below; any others will be value added to the CCU score:

• Physical Therapy continuing education activity includes structured opportunities for self-reflection and identification of growth opportunities.
• Physical Therapy continuing education activity offers informal opportunities for interaction and/or feedback from other professionals.
• Physical Therapy continuing education activity includes opportunities for participation through structured interactive opportunities (labs, discussion groups, etc.).
• Physical Therapy continuing education activity provides opportunities to contribute to the profession and its body of knowledge.

CRITERIA – VALUE ADDED

Any additional criteria met beyond the required element above:

• Physical Therapy continuing education activity includes structured opportunities for self-reflection and identification of growth opportunities.
• Physical Therapy continuing education activity offers informal opportunities for interaction and/or feedback from other professionals.
• Physical Therapy continuing education activity includes opportunities for participation through structured interactive opportunities (labs, discussion groups, etc.).
• Physical Therapy continuing education activity provides opportunities to contribute to the profession and its body of knowledge.

FSBPT STANDARD: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE

The physical therapy continuing education course activity incorporates, reflects, and promotes the use of evidence-based practice or incorporates current or proposed regulation of practice.

CRITERIA – REQUIRED

• The Physical Therapy continuing education activity is developed from the base of available evidence or current regulations; participants are provided references when appropriate.

CRITERIA – VALUE ADDED

• Participants are presented with case studies and the Physical Therapy continuing education provider includes a discussion of this type of evidence and its applicability.
• Participants present a case study relevant to the content of the Physical Therapy continuing education activity and include a critical evaluation of whether the case study demonstrates a defensible approach, has broader applicability, or would benefit from additional research.
• Physical Therapy continuing education activity requires participants to review current scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed resources (applicable to the activity) or to review current regulatory documents.
• Physical Therapy continuing education activity requires participants to critically analyze different types of evidence, questioning the accuracy and relevance of each type, and the completeness of the body of evidence.
• The Physical Therapy continuing education provider has documentation to support that there is a linkage between participation in the activity and the increased use of evidence-based practice by participants.

FSBPT STANDARD: BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES

The physical therapy continuing education course activity includes behavioral objectives which reflect the full extent of the activity content.

CRITERIA – REQUIRED

• Objectives of the Physical Therapy continuing education activity sufficiently reflect the focus of the activity and the critical elements of the content.
• Objectives of the Physical Therapy continuing education activity are behavioral and at an appropriate level for the target participant.

CRITERIA – VALUE ADDED

• Greater than ½ of the total number of Physical Therapy continuing education activity objectives meet both required criteria above.
• The Physical Therapy continuing education activity objectives focus on higher levels of learning.

FSBPT STANDARD: ACTIVITY DESIGN

The physical therapy continuing education course activity is designed to support the achievement of the objectives.

• The Physical Therapy continuing education provider is responsible for documenting how the activity enables the participant to achieve the stated objectives.

CRITERIA – VALUE ADDED

• The documentation clearly describes how the Physical Therapy continuing education activity is designed to support the achievement of the objectives.

FSBPT STANDARD: ASSESSMENT

Each physical therapy continuing education course activity includes methods to assess the participant’s attainment of the specified activity outcomes.

• The assessment methodology for the Physical Therapy continuing education course is appropriate for the stated objectives.
• An achievement standard has been developed for the assessment to determine which participants have successfully attained the Physical Therapy continuing education course outcomes.

CRITERIA – VALUE ADDED

• Physical Therapy continuing education course outcome scoring is standardized.
• For subjectively scored assessments, reliability evidence is provided.
• For objectively scored assessments, reliability evidence is provided.
• A proficiency standard has been established, and participants who meet or exceed that standard are awarded credit.
• The Physical Therapy continuing education course assessment results are compared to other sources of evidence to evaluate how well the activity meets its objectives.

FSBPT STANDARD: REVIEW AND EVALUATION

Mechanisms exist for review and evaluation of the quality and the effectiveness of the physical therapy continuing education course. Subsequent offerings incorporate modifications based on information gained from the review and evaluation.

CRITERIA – VALUE ADDED

• Recommendations for improvements of the Physical Therapy continuing education course are solicited from participants.
• The developer/deliverer collects data regarding the quality and effectiveness of the Physical Therapy continuing education course outside of collecting participant feedback.
• The developer/provider has documented methods for analyzing data and incorporating results into future versions of the Physical Therapy continuing education course.