Raising the standard of physiotherapy education worldwide : WCPT’s accreditation service

Abstract

Relevance: The accreditation service offered by the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) is a strategy towards implementing relevant WCPT policies and guidelines and thus influencing the quality of physical therapist professional entry level education programmes. Purpose: WCPT's mission is to ‘promote high standards of physical therapy practice, education, and research’. Education providers of physical therapist professional entry-level programmes are seeking an internationally accepted standard which enables them to benchmark their entry-level programmes. WCPT's accreditation service was developed to achieve this, particularly in countries where there is no system of accreditation. Approach/evaluation: Relevant WCPT Guidelines and Policies underpin the service. These are agreed by the General Meeting, the governing body of the confederation of 111 member organisations representing more than 350,000 physical therapists around the world. An accreditation manual, guideline and checklist have been prepared and resources for education providers and reviewers have been developed. A database of experienced reviewers has also been established and is continually revised and added to. Education expert volunteer review teams measure requirements against the guidelines. Teams assess the programme documentation, undertake site visits and submit their report and recommendations to WCPT's accreditation committee, which makes the accreditation decision. Outcomes: Feedback from member organisations, reviewers and service participants is encouraged. Universities and their programme providers who have already been reviewed have responded positively. Discussion and conclusions: Education providers strive to meet the WCPT standards, as evidenced by the increasing number of expressions of interest received. Procedures and documentation undergo regular review to meet contemporary accreditation practices. Impact and implications: Raising the standards of physical therapist education enhances the availability and quality of physical therapist services internationally. Funding acknowledgement: The accreditation service is self-funding. C Sykes, a salaried employee of WCPT, manages the service and WCPT's accreditation committee oversees the service offered.