Physical therapy education, both undergraduate and post-graduate, evolves. APTA Vision 2020 recognizes the DPT or Doctorate of Physical Therapy as a professional goal. The job market is tight, and therapists are less inclined to leave their secure jobs for a year of training. Hence, the Kaiser Permanente program transitions into a 3 month Mentorship and 9 month Fellowship in 1998, with mentoring key to both. The Advanced Skills program opens participation during the weekend labs for therapists to earn Continuing Education Units (CEU’s), but they do not receive mentoring.
Funding through KFH Community Benefits, and participation in the RotaCare clinics exposes Fellows-in-Training to providing care for the under- or non-insured in the Bay Area. RotaCare, sponsored by the Rotary, is a volunteer alliance of medical professionals dedicated to providing free, quality healthcare to individuals with limited ability to pay for medical services.
Internationally known speakers are brought in for lab-based continuing education courses, open to all therapists for professional development, recognizing that many could not participate in the more intensive Mentorship or Fellowship programs. Many of these courses are sponsored by our alumni association: IAOPT (Institute for the Advancement of Orthopedic Physical Therapy).