Eligibility Requirements

• Physical therapists who are current members in good standing of the association.
• Actively engaged in writing and publishing professional literature for a sustained period of not less than 10 years.

Criteria for Selection

Nominees for this award must demonstrate:

• A significant contribution to health care by writing in the areas of theory, practice, foundational or clinical research, education, or administration.
• Publication in at least two different health care professional journals or contribution to at least two books, monographs, or proceedings from scientific meetings.
• Expertise of subject matter, innovation of ideas, and clarity of expression in their scientific writing.

A strong application should demonstrate the following:

That the nominee is a physical therapist who has made a significant contribution to health care by writing in the areas of theory, practice, basic, or clinical research, education, or administration.

That the nominee has published in at least two different health care professional journals, or contributed to at least two books, monographs, or proceedings from scientific meetings.

That the scientific writings reflect expertise of subject matter, innovation of ideas, and clarity of expression.

Provide electronic examples of published writings. These examples should be from health profession publications, both within and outside the discipline of physical therapy. Publications can include scientific journals, books, monographs, or proceedings from scientific meetings, podcasts, webinars, online courses, and other publications.

Letters of support should:

• Explicitly state how the nominee is qualified under the criteria for selection by providing details on what significant contributions have been made by the nominee to the literature in physical therapy or in other health care disciplines in the areas of theory, practice, basic or clinical research, education, and administration.
• Reflect genuine knowledge and consideration of the nominee’s qualifications for this award.
• Indicate in what capacity the author works or worked with, or otherwise knows personally, the nominee.

What Recipients Receive

An award will be presented to the recipient by APTA's Board of Directors at an APTA national event, and an official announcement will appear in an association publication.

Submission Requirements

The nominator is responsible for reviewing and ensuring the completion of all steps within the online nomination submission process before its final submission. During the online process, the following documents will be required for upload:

• Current curriculum vitae or resume of the nominee.
• A letter of nomination that specifically focuses on the strengths of the nominee in relation to the award criteria, not to exceed three pages. Letters of nomination cannot serve as one of the required letters of support.
• Two letters of support obtained from individuals who can demonstrate the relationship of the nominee's published work to the purpose of the award. Letters of support may be from physical therapists or from health care professionals in other disciplines and are not to exceed two pages each. (Note: If more than two letters of support are received, only the first two will be considered. The nominator will be asked to remove additional letters.)
• One electronic copy of a journal article, book review, abstract, or a portion of a longer publication that is most illustrative of the nominee's work and that best exemplifies the criteria for the award.

Submit a Nomination

The nominations call for the Honors and Awards program is open Sept.1- Dec. 1. Nominations must be submitted through our online portal by Dec. 1; late submissions will not be considered. Selected recipients and their nominators will be notified in May.

Additional Resources

For questions regarding the nomination process or the award, please contact APTA Honors and Awards.