Listening Time — 23:07

Listen to this PTJ interview that discusses two recent essays on the history of physical therapy in the military, as well as important and insightful lessons on what can be learned from the military to empower the profession in civilian health care. 

In this centennial year, and in a year of continued challenges for health care, the role of military physical therapists in shaping and driving the physical therapy profession is especially important to remember. PTJ recently published two historical essays: "US Military Physical Therapy: 1970-2020” (https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/101/3/pzab087/6158918), co-authored by David Greathouse, PT, PhD, FAPTA, and “Colonel Emma Vogel, USA: The Innovator Who Set the Stage for Physical Therapists in the Military” by Gini Blodgett Birchett, MSLS (https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/101/7/pzab148/6327491).

Editor-in-Chief Alan Jette, PT, PhD, FAPTA, talks with Greathouse about the lasting impact of Vogel, from her mobilization of PTs to support troops in the European and Asian theaters of WWII, to her advocacy for key legislation that changed the playing field for not only PTs but dieticians and occupational therapists. Greathouse notes something little understood outside the U.S. armed forces: the safety record of PT direct access and primary care practice in the military is remarkable, with no malpractice or legal issues and no serious confrontations with physicians. How did military PTs establish successful, supportive relationships with the military physician community? What are the critical insights for the future of physical therapy both in terms of education and clinical practice? Greathouse shares lessons that could help guide civilian settings and considers the obstacles that civilian settings face.