A Wider Net

The American Physical Therapy Association does a lot of work around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to expand the field’s workforce. It supports scholarships for people entering the profession from diverse backgrounds and works with its regional chapters to build awareness of physical therapy careers. But, says APTA VP of DEI Carmen Elliott, CAE, successful DEI work means recognizing how the concept of diversity looks different depending on where you go.

“What recruitment may look like in New York may look totally different in West Virginia, and we recognize that,” she says. “Our chapters will customize some of the materials to better fit the students that they’re recruiting — we just attempt to make it easy for them by providing slide decks, presentations, talking points, and one-pagers.”

That outreach program, called PT Moves Me  (opens in a new tab), is designed to be effective with limited resources — much of the work is done via volunteer “ambassadors” from APTA chapters. And it’s been effective — Elliott says that since 2021 APTA has trained 650 ambassadors across all 50 states, prompting a 3.5 percent increase in applicants to DPT programs, reversing a downward trend. That definition of diversity includes traditional figures such as race and gender, but for a field looking to attract workers in regions where there are shortages, also includes socioeconomic status and whether people come from rural areas.