The Board of Directors and staff of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) are very concerned, as are all of you, about the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the physical therapy regulatory community.
We know the global community has been thrust into unchartered territory for modern times—a worldwide pandemic from which none of us is immune. We all realize that local, state, national, and international resources will be stretched far beyond their normal operating capacity.
This is true for our stakeholders as well. We are all operating with reduced access to staff who are functioning in unusual circumstances caused by this unprecedented situation. Stress levels are high across the nation, and indeed the world, as people consider how this situation affects them on an individual basis. As an organization, we are very concerned about each individual, but we recognize that limiting our thinking to individual needs will not result in successful outcomes.
We know that regulators, students, faculty, and their potential patients are impacted by the current and constantly evolving events facing us daily. We ask that you consider the consequences of the changes we are all confronted with at a level beyond that of the individual. In no way are we minimizing the impact of the issues each one of us is facing individually—the matters we are confronting are important and unsettling. For those of you on the front lines, who have students demanding answers that none of us have at this time, we appreciate the difficult position you are in. At the same time, we all need to understand that there are national imperatives that outweigh the needs of individual students and schools. We owe it to students and the public to model professional behaviors and resilience while we work together to solve problems that arise, such as major disruptions to our NPTE testing model.
FSBPT will continue to do the best we can to communicate and be responsive as we deal with monumental disruptions to the way we normally operate in fulfillment of our mission of public protection. We appreciate our stakeholders and partners joining us in maintaining respect for each other and working collaboratively as we face the difficulties ahead. Patience and understanding are key in these challenging times. Working together we will successfully navigate the issues before us and the many more that will confront us in the weeks and months ahead. We know that our PT regulatory community will rise to the challenge to protect the public, serve society, and maintain our valuable partnerships with educators. We welcome your communication as we continue to work together.