I am really not trying to be argumentative, but what exactly establishes a profession as a "clinical doctoring" profession? Are ODs a doctoring profession? Are clinical psychologists? are Naturopaths?
The point about PT school being the same as it was when it was all certificate and BS programs is just not true. I graduated from PT school in 1991 and replaced a guy who graduated in 1966. The department that I inherited did not even have the charge for an evaluation on the books (indicating that he didn't do them, just did what the doctor told him to do)
The expansion of the education required does, in fact add to the scope of knowledge a PT has when he/she graduates and begins practice. If you think about the courses that make up actually the technical teaching of physical therapy, they were interspersed with the general education requirements over 4 years. Pretty diluted. With the master's programs the same number of credit hours are required to get a bachelor's first but most of that is prerequisite science, math, stats, etc . . . BEFORE the PT program begins. This translates to better scientific bases for the new PT student to learn and advance the profession with EBP. Now, with the DPT programs, there is yet more education regarding pharmacology (not that we can or want to prescribe meds but it helps us predict patient's responses to treatments) and radiology (again, we can't order imaging but it often comes down to the PT to explain the reports in terms that the patient can understand). We also learn a bit more about the different responses to health care professionals from people of different cultures. These are generalities but there really is more information being taught. the guy that I replaced did hot packs, ultrasound, and massage to everything. I think what you may be having a problem with is the rapid transition from BS to MS to DPT and I can see your frustration but I think in the mid 80's and after, the quality of the profession took a quantum leap forward and the degrees really didn't keep up. Now they are.
I don't know what qualifies as clinically doctoring profession, I only know that my doctors that I work with don't know nearly as much about NMS evaluation as I do and they know that too. Its not a power thing at all, just the nature of our training. I don't know beans about respiratory alkalosis and how to treat it.(I used to be able to explain it but can't anymore) I know that the only real doctors are the ones with DO and MD after their names and I think that there aren't many PTs who don't think that way, but most real docs also respect the vastly more complex knowledge of the PT with regard to function and assessment, and return to function.