In this News Brief:
The Slate for the 2021 Delegate Assembly Elections
The Nominating Committee is pleased to announce the slate for this year’s elections at the FSBPT Delegate Assembly. Candidate statements will appear in the Delegate Handbook, which will be available on the FSBPT website for membership review closer to the meeting date.
The Nominating Committee will hold a Candidate Forum at the 2021 Leadership Issues Forum to introduce 2021 candidates for the Board of Directors and the Nominating Committee, in addition to a Candidate Forum in the fall. Further, the Nominating Committee will be seeking candidates interested in being slated for the 2022 elections. These positions will include President and Vice President. The qualifications for these positions can be found in the Board and Committee Job Descriptions.
Please join FSBPT in thanking the 2021 Nominating Committee Members, Sherri Paru (Chair), Debbie Kubota, and Joseph Shanley, for their work this year.
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| Secretary: Tina Baum (SD) | Secretary: Jim Clahane (PA) | Treasurer: Ruggie Canizares (OR) | Treasurer: Steven Scherger (MN) |
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| Director I: Ellen Donald (FL) | Director I: Elizabeth Locke (VA) | Nominating Committee: Ron Barredo (TN) | Nominating Committee: Deborah Richardson Peter (VI) |
National Volunteer Week
National Volunteer Week is coming up April 18-24! We would like to let FSBPT volunteers know how much they are appreciated. If you have an anecdote or message to share with them, please let us know. Please share your thoughts by COB Thursday, April 15.
COVID-19: A Regulatory Sandbox
While COVID has provided many challenges, it has also provided a unique opportunity—a Regulatory Sandbox, which is a framework that regulators use to conduct live experiments in controlled environments.
For example, due to the pandemic, the Scope of Practice may have changed, from expanding telehealth to allowing PTs and PTAs to conduct testing and provide vaccinations. Some jurisdictions delayed criminal background checks or had licensure exemptions and waivers. Member boards suddenly had to shift from face-to-face board meetings and disciplinary hearings to alternative, virtual methods.
Some of these changes may be so beneficial that they become the new standard. Other changes should only be reserved for emergencies, or perhaps not even then. However, boards should make these distinctions based on evidence.
As David Benton, CEO of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, suggested at a recent FARB Forum, by analyzing data from this pandemic, we can gain invaluable insight into new, everyday best practices as well as emergency preparedness. We encourage member boards to consider these questions that he posed as they look at the past year:
- Did the waiver/exemption/alternative function as anticipated?
- Were there any seen or unseen negative consequences due to the waivers/exemptions/alternatives?
- Did changes reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers?
- Was it more efficient or less efficient?
- Was it more effective or less effective?
- Are there other regulatory refinements needed to better address foreseen and unforeseen consequences?
Hopefully, despite the copious challenges of COVID-19, we can come away with new insight and information to guide us forward.
Washington, DC, and Alabama Join the PT Compact
Washington, DC, and Alabama joined the PT Compact on March 16 and 18, respectively, making them the thirtieth and thirty-first members of the PT Compact. To see the jurisdictions that have introduced or passed legislation, view our PT Compact map.
Share Your Webinar Ideas!
We are seeking presentation ideas and proposals for webinars we will be hosting throughout 2021. You can watch recent webinars and register for upcoming sessions on the FSBPT website to see our current offerings.
If you have a specific idea, please submit a proposal. However, we are also interested in learning about jurisdictions' experiences with regulatory topics and your general ideas on what issues we should examine. We encourage all board members, board administrators, and other stakeholders to please share topics and ideas with us.
2021 Leadership Issues Forum and Annual Meeting & Delegate Assembly
This year, FSBPT has not budgeted for an in-person Leadership Issues Forum or Annual Meeting & Delegate Assembly. Instead, these events will be held virtually:
Leadership Issues Forum (LIF)
July 17-18 | Virtual
Delegate Assembly
October 22-23 | Virtual
Jurisdictions will still need to select the following roles so we can properly register them:
- Voting Delegate
- Alternate Delegate
- Selected Administrator
We recently emailed administrators instructions on selecting delegates and identifying the selected administrator. If you have any questions, please contact communications@fsbpt.org.
Thank you to the following jurisdictions that have already selected delegates and administrators: Arizona, Deleware, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, and Puerto Rico.
Submit 2021 Excellence in Regulation Award Nomination: Forms—Due June 4
The Excellence in Regulation Award recognizes jurisdictions that have made significant accomplishments towards increasing public protection for consumers of physical therapy services in a number of areas. To nominate a jurisdiction, including your own, submit a Nomination Form to communications@fsbpt.org by Friday, June 4, 2021. Late submissions will not be accepted.
Topics at the Leadership Issues Forum
FSBPT strives to be a deliberative organization and seeks to present new approaches and changes in a purposeful manner before our Leadership Issues Forum (LIF). Providing topics in advance allows the board an opportunity to carefully prepare topics for consideration. Bringing topics to LIF where our members have plenty of time to engage in thoughtful dialogue allows us to truly get member input into important topics. A number of topics have been presented at consecutive LIF meetings to make sure they are vetted properly, like the most recent bylaw changes or the disciplinary action guidelines. We welcome your input into future topics for LIF and look forward to hearing from you all!
FSBPT Forum: Don’t Cross That Line! The Regulator’s Role in Prevention of Boundary Violations
New research and shifting cultural expectations are changing the way we understand and approach boundary violations. This article is based on an Annual Meeting 2020 presentation by Susan Paul and Leanne Loranger. Read more.
Spotlight on Member Resources: Let’s Meet With and For a Purpose: Purpose of Regulation
In this recorded webinar, Dale Atkinson addressed the important, yet often overlooked topic of the purpose of government and regulation of the professions. Participants considered words and phrases describing why government exists and how regulation and legislative intent is fulfilled.
Our Gratitude for Volunteers
This month, we thank the generous volunteer members of these groups for their support of our mission:
In the News
"Oklahoma State Pharmacy Board Warns Of Scammers Posing As Board Agents," News on 6, February 25, 2021
“Scammers are posing as fake board agents and contacting pharmacies saying they are under investigation, and that they have to pay money or risk having their license suspended.”
"Phishing scam targets New York medical professionals," Rachel Silberstein, The Times Union, February 24, 2021
"The state Education Department is warning licensed medical professionals in New York about a scam involving telephone calls from people posing as department employees or law enforcement officials."
"One of Us," Raymond Givens, The New England Journal of Medicine, January 27, 2021
"Dr. Susan Moore was one of us. She immigrated to the United States from Jamaica as a child and earned a medical degree from the University of Michigan. She was a family physician in Indianapolis who found herself hospitalized with Covid-19 in November 2020. Details of Moore’s medical care are in dispute, but some facts are clear. An experienced clinician felt it necessary to use social media to allege that she had been deliberately undertreated and disrespected — and that anti-Black racism was the cause,1 a perception of medical care that a third of Black Americans share.2 In response, the hospital promised to undertake diversity training. Some of Moore’s complaints proved tragically prophetic: “This is how Black people get killed — when you send them home and they don’t know how to fight for themselves.” Within a day after being discharged, she was hypotensive. An ambulance took her to a different hospital, where she found her care more satisfactory. But her health later deteriorated and she died. She was 52."
Board Report
Motion adopted
To accept and approve Audit Report and Audited Financials for Fiscal Year 2020 as presented by external auditors RSM.
To appoint, reappoint, or extend the following people to the task forces listed.
Re-Entry Task Force
ELDD Quality and State Participation Task Force
- Meghan Certo (IN), chair
- Charles Harvey (NV) (new)
Boundary Violations Task Force
- Jennifer Wissinger (OH), chair
Board Liaisons to Jurisdictions
Members of the Board of Directors serve as liaisons to multiple jurisdictions. Current liaison relationships are listed here for your reference.
 Tom Caldwell
Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas |  Ruggie Canizares
Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah |  Ellen Donald
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina |  Joni Kalis
Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming |
 Nancy Kirsch
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont |  Adrienne Price
Delaware, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia |  David Relling
Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands |  Charles E. Reiter
The public member of the board does not serve as a liaison to jurisdictions. |
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Staff Contact Information
Staff Contact Information
If you have questions, challenges or ideas, we want to hear from you!
(703) 299-3100
| Subject | Point of Contact/Email Address |
| ADA accommodations | Christine Sousa |
| Assessment or examination development questions | Lorin Muelle
Susan Newman
npte@fsbpt.org |
| Continuing competence | Jeffrey M. Rosa
competencestaff@fsbpt.org |
| Credentials review | Jaime Nolan, FCCPT |
| ELDD- Exam, Licensure and Disciplinary Database participation | eldd@fsbpt.org |
| Exam registration processing | Christine Sousa |
| Foreign educated issues | Leslie Adrian |
| Immigration | Jamie Nolan |
| JAM- Jurisprudence Assessment Module | competencestaff@fsbpt.org |
| Legislation or Model Practice Act | Leslie Adrian |
| Meeting arrangements | Paul Delaney |
| NPDB reports/questions | Angela Burnham |
| PTC- Physical Therapy Compact | compact@fsbpt.org |
| PEAT®- Practice Exam & Assessment Tool | peat@fsbpt.org |
| Reimbursement of expenses
Other financial matters | Linda Michelsen |
| School reports | schoolreports@fsbpt.org |
| Score transfer & reporting | Christine Sousa |
| SCP PET- Supervised Clinical Practice Performance Evaluation Tool | scppet@fsbpt.org |
| Security issues | Susan Newman
security@fsbpt.org |
| Anything else, including news to share with members | William A. Hatherill
Caitlin Jennings
Communications@fsbpt.org |
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| | Sign off: From the slowly progressing vaccinated banks of the Potomac River, where the fish are faster, the fishing boats are longer, and the fishermen are still full of stories. - William A. Hatherill, CEO
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