The Importance of Maintaining a Valid Physical Therapy License - Essay Example

The license renewal process thus ensures that the physical therapist has completed the required continuing education and, as a result, has access to the most current information and techniques available. Moreover, it is crucial that physical therapists maintain valid licenses so that the state can ensure that its physical therapy professionals are obliged to adhere to the ethical standards of the industry.

Additionally, it is essential that physical therapists maintain their licenses for a variety of legal reasons. Physical therapy patients rely on their physical therapist to provide them with a certain standard of care. Often, physical therapy can provide a patient with the means to achieve a better quality of life. A patient needs to be able to trust in the qualifications of their physical therapist not only to help them reach the goals but also to make sure he does not further damage himself in the process.

The physical therapy license provides this security for the patient, giving him the knowledge that this physical therapist is qualified to advise him. If a physical therapist allows his license to lapse, he is no longer certified to provide physical therapy services to patients and is accordingly not deserving of the patient's trust. Thus, in the most basic sense, a physical therapy license proves to the patient that his working with a certified professional. Renewing a physical therapy license is a process that involves completing certain required continuing education units.

In an industry that changes so rapidly, a physical therapist who was educated twenty years ago would be unable to adhere to the current standard of care without continuing education. Obtaining a physical therapy license in the first place is not adequate for continued practice without a renewed license precisely because, without constant education, a physical therapist is unable to meet his obligation to his patient. That obligation, namely, is to provide the highest standard of service available.

Thus, it is crucial that a physical therapist maintain a current license in order to ensure that he is providing the highest level of service currently available. Another reason that it is vital for a physical therapist to preserve a valid license within the area of his practice is that this allows the state to ensure that physical therapists are being held to an ethical standard. The nature of medicine, including physical therapy, is such that it is subject to certain ethical standards dictating both the rights of the patient and the obligations of the therapist.

If a physical therapist does not maintain a valid license, there is no way for the state to ensure that he will uphold these standards and comply with his moral obligations. Additionally, licensing provides an important basis for legal proceedings concerning physical therapy. The license not only protects the physical therapist by vouching for his authority in his field but also protects the patient by giving him a basis for expecting a certain standard of service. A physical therapist who allows his license to lapse is thereby vulnerable to any number of lawsuits against him because he is not legally qualified to practice without a valid license.

It is clearly in the best interest of the practicing physical therapist to maintain the validity of his license. Ultimately, a physical therapist who is practicing, even for one day, without a valid license is deceiving his patients and violating the laws of the state. A patient expects that he is working with a physical therapist who is certified by the state to provide a high standard of care. By neglecting to property renew his license, a physical therapist deceives his patients in this respect.

In effect, he is present himself as something he is not-a certified professional. A physical therapist is morally and legally required to maintain a valid license in order to continue to provide service to his patients. In conclusion, is simply inexcusable for a physical therapist to neglect this responsibility.