In this News Brief:
Funded Members for the Leadership Issues Forum and the Annual Education Meeting
This year, FSBPT will fund the following attendees at the Leadership Issues Forum and the Annual Education Meeting. We have contacted administrators with instructions on selecting delegates (voting and alternate) and identifying the funded administrator.
Leadership Issues Forum, July 19-20, Arlington, Virginia
- Voting Delegate
- Board Administrator
Annual Education Meeting, October 23-25, Spokane, Washington
- Voting Delegate
- Funded Alternate Delegate
- Board Administrator
January PTA Administration
The January PTA administration was substantially disrupted by both mother nature and technology. Wildfires in California and a snowstorm on the East Coast caused a number of appointments to be rescheduled. Additionally, a technical problem caused by a Prometric software issue meant some candidates were able to start their exam but hit an error that terminated their exam at the end of section 2.
In total, 231 candidates had to reschedule their appointments, which was 17% of test takers. While weather events do happen—in 2024 alone, Hurricanes Beryl, Milton, and Helene all caused testing disruption—it is uncommon to have widespread technology issues. For 2022-2024, on average, only 1% of candidates experienced a test-day issue. Resolving this technical issue with Prometric was FSBPT's highest priority, and the PT exams on January 28 and 29 were delivered as expected.
Share Your Webinar and Annual Education Meeting Ideas!
We are accepting presentation ideas and proposals for 2025 webinars and in-person sessions at the 2025 Annual Education Meeting in Spokane, Washington.
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, administrators, and other stakeholders to share topics and ideas with us. You can also watch webinars and meeting sessions on FSBPT's YouTube Channel to learn what we've recently covered.
New Appointment to CBA Vice Chair
We are pleased to announce that Jason Kaiser of California has been appointed as the new Vice Chair of the CBA. This appointment comes following the election of Stephen Curley to the FSBPT Board of Directors, which left a vacancy in the Vice CBA Chair position. In such situations, the Director in the Administrator position on the Board, currently Michelle Sigmund-Gaines, is responsible for appointing an individual to fill the vacancy. Please join us in congratulating Jason on his appointment and wishing him success in his new position.
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!
Going to the APTA Combined Sections Meeting?
We will be at the APTA Combined Sections Meeting, held in Houston, Texas. February 13-15. Please stop by our booths and visit us!
- FSBPT Booth: 1426
- PT Compact Booth:1424
Model Practice Act Moment
We will focus on a different statute section from the Model Practice Act and its accompanying commentary each month. In 2025, we will be focusing on the twelve sections of Article 4.
Article 4: Regulation of Physical Therapy
4.01 Ethics in the Physical Therapy Profession
A. A physical therapist shall adhere to the recognized standards of ethics of the physical therapy profession as established by rule.
B. A physical therapist assistant shall adhere to the recognized standards of ethical conduct of the physical therapy profession as established by rule.
Commentary
A profession’s code of ethics encourages a higher standard of conduct; whereas jurisdiction laws establish minimum levels of acceptable conduct. Professional associations are recognized as the promulgators of a profession’s code of ethics. This language establishes that ethical conduct in the jurisdiction is legally mandated as the minimum standard of lawful practice. Inclusion of this language empowers a board to be more than the “gatekeepers” or “hand-slappers”, some feel is the historical and only duty of licensing boards. A similar clause is included in the model language under the Grounds for Denial of a License [and Certificate], Disciplinary Action, Article 4.04.
The model language is “generic” in that it does not specifically reference the American Physical Therapy Association's (APTA's) Code of Ethics, with its accompanying Guide for Professional Conduct (See Appendix B) and Standards of Ethical Conduct for the physical therapist assistant (See Appendix C). This generic approach is preferred by many jurisdictions' legal counsel in order to avoid mention in statutes of professional associations and links to documents not under jurisdiction approval authority. The link can be specifically and appropriately made in rules by reference to a specific version of the APTA Code of Ethics and Guide for Professional Conduct.
Available Funding Opportunities
The FSBPT Board is committed to supporting its member jurisdictions in their mission to protect the public. Join the ranks of states, including Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and the Virgin Islands, that have all taken a big step toward both administrative efficiency and protecting the public. They are currently leveraging FSBPT Grants to enhance the ELDD, improve compact privilege implementation, and collect workforce data.
Your state should be next! Learn more about our available grants to help jurisdictions with enhancing your participation in or communication with our Examination, Licensure, and Disciplinary Database (ELDD), improving compact privilege implementation, or collecting workforce data.
FSBPT offers grant funding to support its member jurisdictions in their mission to protect the public. If you are interested in receiving a grant, please send an email to FSBPT's CEO, William A. Hatherill summarizing what you would like to have funded and why it is important or how it can improve efficiencies for your board.
Send Us Additional Recipients
Do you know of any individuals or groups that would be interested in receiving our monthly News Brief? Do you have new board members or staff starting in 2025? Or did someone forward this to you, and you'd like to be on our list?
Please send any referrals our way! Contact us via email at communications@fsbpt.org with information, ideas, or suggestions.
We appreciate your collaboration in our effort to further our mission to protect the public.
Michelle Sigmund-Gaines, Director of the Oregon Board of Physical Therapy and Director on the FSBPT Board of Directors, shares how the CBA made connections and worked toward public protection in 2024.
Spotlight on Member Resources: December 2024 Regulatory Hour
Dale Atkinson discusses recent rulings and navigating the regulatory landscape. Stay ahead of the curve with this analysis of key recent judicial rulings relevant to the regulatory community. Understand their practical implications for your work and equip yourself to navigate the evolving legal landscape with confidence.
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Many Thanks to Our Volunteers
This month, we thank our generous volunteer members for their support of our mission.
- Accommodations Guidelines Working Group
- Item Writing Task Force
In the News
FSBPT provides the following links for your education and awareness but does not endorse the content.
“Ohio gov signs alternative CPA licensure pathway bill into law”, CFO DIVE, Maura Webber Sadovi, January 9, 2025
"The move puts the Buckeye state at the forefront of the recent drive to address the talent shortage by widening on-ramps into the accounting profession."
“Artificial intelligence engineers computer their way to the top of LinkedIn’s job list”, cbs6albany.com, Cory Smith, January 7, 2025
Physical Therapist was listed as the number three career on "Jobs on the Rise".
FSBPT Board of Directors
Members of the board of directors serve as liaisons to multiple jurisdictions.
| Stephen Curley Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia | | | Craig Miller Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah | |
| David Relling Hawaii, New Jersey, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Virgin Islands | | | Steven Scherger Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas | |
| Michelle Sigmund-Gaines Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming | | | Michele Thorman Delaware, District of Columbia, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, Virginia, and Wisconsin | |
| Krista Wolfe Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont | | | Charles E. Reiter The public member of the board does not serve as a liaison to jurisdictions | |
Did you know...?
FSBPT’s Board of Directors wants members to know staff is available to assist any jurisdiction with writing statutory or regulatory language. When you are crafting new laws or regulations/rules, especially involving FSBPT products such as the NPTE or Coursework Tool, or controversial topics such as dry needling, FSBPT is a resource to remember!
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 Mueller npte@fsbpt.org |
| Continuing competence | Jeffrey M. Rosa |
| 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 | JAM@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 | David Sigman, ext. 226 |
| 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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| | From the red berry Neil Stevens holly tree-covered banks of the Potomac, 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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