Physical Therapy Professional Foundations: Keys to Success in School and Career

Physical Therapy Professional Foundations: Keys to Success in School and Career is a comprehensive new text that provides an in-depth guide for physical therapy students from the start of their education to clinical practice.

This user-friendly text begins as the students enter the educational program, offering an introduction to the physical therapy profession and current issues in physical therapy. The author offers practical strategies for students as they progress through professional education including financial considerations, professional behavior, performance expectations, legal and ethical issues as well as requirements and challenges faced during the transition from school to career. Special coverage of concerns of re-entry students, students with disabilities, and students with English as a second language are also addressed.

Physical Therapy Professional Foundations: Keys to Success in School and Career is a valuable resource for new graduate physical therapists as they prepare for and begin their careers. Topics that will assist them in this important stage are preparation for the licensure examination, entering the job market, common challenges for new graduate physical therapists, and planning for career development.

This essential text contains numerous references and resources to provide opportunities for further research and professional development from such publications as the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice. This simple and straightforward approach will provide the keys to success for students in the field of physical therapy, as well as a reference and resource for physical therapy faculty and practicing clinicians.

Dr. Kathleen A. Curtis is the winner of the “President’s Award of Excellence” for 2005 at California State University, Fresno

Additional Topics Covered Inside:

Learning and skill acquisition. Personal management decisions. Evidence-based practice and critical thinking. Interprofessional collaboration. Student roles in the American Physical Therapy Association.

Kathleen Curtis, PhD, PT
Dr. Kathleen Curtis is a professor in the Physical Therapy Department at California State University, Fresno, where she teaches courses in research methods, professional development, health services administration, health behavior, and patient-practitioner communication. In addition to her responsibilities at California State University, Fresno, she is also an educational consultant with Health Directions, her own consulting firm. Dr. Curtis received her bachelor of science in physical therapy at Northeastern University. She received her master's degree in health science from San Jose State University and received her doctorate in education at University of California, Los Angeles.

Her background includes a wide variety of experiences in clinical practice, staff development and supervision, clinical research, and clinical and academic teaching. Her interests include methods to enhance career development and longevity of professionals in the rehabilitation fields. She administers an annual outcomes assessment in the Physical Therapy Department at California State University, Fresno. She coauthored and currently serves on the advisory board of California State University, Fresno's Certificate of Advanced Study in Interprofessional Collaboration, the first post-baccalaureate program of its kind in the country.

She has published extensively in rehabilitation literature and serves as a manuscript reviewer for several journals. She was recently awarded the California Physical Therapist Faculty Research Award for her study on helping behavior in physical therapists.

She has been teaching clinical education and career development workshops for the past 14 years and has trained more than 3500 clinical instructors and coordinators in the United States and Canada. In addition to teaching workshops, she published a six-module volume, Training Programs for Clinical Instructors, which is currently in use in more than 500 hospitals, colleges, and universities across the United States and Canada.