I went back to school for a degree outside of physical therapy to learn how to live our APTA vision to “transform society.” Know what I learned? Health and healthcare inequities are a main driver of individual health. “Transforming society” means we must act to address them.

As important as specific payment and scope of practice issues might be, we’re not transforming society by chasing the same 2% CMS rate cut and imaging privileges every year. We need to think much bigger. We need to multitask big and little, inward and outward. Chew gum and walk.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion aren’t feel-good buzzwords we can wrap up in gauzy language and feel satisfied that it’s enough. They’re critical issues for PT to address in order to reduce health and health care inequities; to “transform society” through “building communities.”

Deaths and burden of disease in minoritized populations in the United States are ridiculously high, but they’re the standard we’ve set by always looking past them. This is a morally untenable position for a profession interested in the health of society. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425844/