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Report from APTA Oregon Liaison to Oregon Board of Physical Therapy

January 2021
Michael Rennick, PT

The Oregon Board of Physical Therapy (OBPT) held a strategic planning session in November and continued this work in its December meeting.  The OBPT invites input on this work (see questions below). The OBPT reflected on its primary purposes: promoting the quality of health services provided; protecting the public health, safety and welfare, addressing impairments; and its charge to establish programs that increase the representation of people who identify as BIPOC and bilingual and encourage pain management.     

In considering these functions, there was dialogue about the Board’s role in a more proactive and preventative framework, including but not limited to the effects of the pandemic.  

  • Nancy Kirsch, President of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT), led a discussion about the “Regulatory role in addressing practitioner burn out, moral injury, vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue.”  
  • Richard Woolf, Vice President of the FSBPT led a discussion about “Trauma informed regulation and boundary violations”.    
  • In considering diversity, equity, inclusion and racial justice, Jackie Yerby, Deputy Health Policy Advisor for Oregon Governor Kate Brown, reviewed a ‘Culturally Responsive Regulation Framework’  and the charge and work of the Oregon Racial Justice Council was highlighted.  The lens here is moving from ‘cultural competency’ to ‘cultural responsiveness’ and more specificity.   

In considering priorities for the next 5 years, the Board seeks to explore interest and coordinate with APTA-Oregon in the areas of promoting trauma informed care practices, culturally responsive care/racial justice, and clinician burnout/moral injury.  Again, framework here is about the Board’s regulatory role and engaging in a proactive, preventative approach.  One of the follow up items was to solicit member and Chapter input on these topics.   

  • What is APTA-Oregon’s Continuing Education (CE) committee planning in terms of burnout and moral injury and would the CE committee be open to partnering with the Board on educational initiatives?     
  • What are employers and licensees currently doing in the areas of trauma informed care, moral injury, diversity and racial justice?   

The Board meeting minutes are posted here, and further updates will be supplied after the public session on February 5th.  See slides below for additional information on the topics examined recently by the OBPT.

Read Updates from OBPT