PhD needed to teach PT classes or anatomy at a university?

[Brandon1986]

I'm just curious before I start applying to PT schools for this cycle if a PhD is needed to teach PT classes or anatomy at a college? I've looked up a few instructors at my university and not all of them have PhD's and are teaching some PT classes. Teaching after a few years of clinical experience or doing it on the side appeals to me especially anatomy or within the PT profession. There are a few combined DPT/PhD programs in Ohio and I'm trying to narrow down my list of schools and whether or not I should pursue this route. Anyone with any information or experience on this or if anyone with a PhD on the boards could share some info it would be appreciated! Also would it be possible to practice as a PT while pursing a PhD or is it too much to do both at once?

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[truthseeker]

As far as I know you do not need a PhD to teach classes. I do believe that a DPT program needs to have at least one PhD or EdD on their faculty to remain accredited. I wouldn't let that turn you off of a school if all other things are equal.

If you love research or want to teach the dual degree would/might be useful but as a clinician, it is not necessary.

 

[PTisfun]

For some courses, CAPTE 'requires' a person to have a PhD. I think they call those foundational courses (or CAPTE does not, and that is just how i think about it). The Director of the program also have to have an academic doctoral degree (so not a DPT has the highest degree). But there are way around it from my understanding for those schools that do not have this criteria fulfilled.
A PhD is a a significant undertaking, and if all you want to do is teach a course I would think long and hard about it. That is not a reason to get a PhD in my opinion.

 

[Brandon1986]

Thanks for the responses. It wasn't my intention for it to come off as I'm only considering it because I would like to teach at some point. I enjoy learning and going to classes a few days into a break from class I begin to miss it because it keeps me busy and I enjoy it. If I were to someday pursue a PhD it would be a combination of wanting to teach and to wanting to learn more.

 

[callmecrazy]

Pursuing a PhD is a massive commitment and a very personalized process. To appropriately seek out the right school and mentor and area you are passionate about, I think waiting until you are a practicing clinician would be to your benefit. And the flexibility of being a PT makes it possible to be a clinician and work on the PhD whenever you are ready. It willbe stressful no matter how you do it so I wouldn't worry about it being "too much" one way versus the other.

If it's the idea of some teaching that appeals to you, there are other ways besides the PhD to do it. Many PT programs bring in area clinicians to teach various topics throughout the program. They're selected based on clinical experience/expertise versus advanced degree. There are also opportunities to teach courses such as anatomy outside of PT programs in places like community colleges, and you don't need anything beyond the DPT for that.

 

[banares]

It's quite possible that it's different from school to school. In my program, professors MUST have a PhD/or be working toward a PhD, regardless of the course they're teaching.

 

[Azimuthal]

If academia is a passion, a PhD would greatly benefit your end goal. Without a PhD or Ed.D, most teaching positions at the university level will be at the lab instructor/part-time lecturer level. There would be no room for tenure or growth. There is a difference between instructors, lecturers and full-time faculty.

I'm considering a PhD myself after practicing for 10 years or so. It's definitely a commitment. Good luck on your decision.

 

[goyo1010]

Nope. It's not required for an instructor to have a PhD in order to teach. There are a few classes at my program in Houston that have instructors without PhDs, granted that they are pretty well-respected in their fields with other certifications (OCS, NCS, FAAOMPT, CHT, OT/PT, etc).

The PhDs teach mostly the harder and more advanced classes, rather than classes like Basic Skills in PT, or Primary Care in PT. There is an advantage to having PhDs teach these classes, as many of them have a deeper breadth of knowledge in the areas they teach. However, this is wholly dependent on their quality of teaching. lol. One of my professors, who just retired at the end of last semester had been with TWU for 26 years or something, and he is brilliant, especially in the field of neurology and clinical electrophysiology. BUT, his teaching was just... let's just say his lectures and exam questions were totally "wtf is he saying/asking". He was funny though.

I'm not sure how the DPT/PhD programs work in Ohio, but here at TWU, we start IRBs, our study, and whatnot during our DPT curriculum, take PhD classes in addition to our DPT classes if we want, become formally accepted into the PhD program upon graduation and licensure, continue PhD classes, work on our dissertation while working in the clinical setting. Then somewhere between 3-10 years after DPT graduation, we get our PhD. I don't know what I was thinking.

The acceptance process was pretty tough, too. They accepted only 1 from my class for the DPT-PhD program. And ALL the professors are in a meeting room interviewing you and asking you questions, in addition to a 2 minute "speech" from you. And they have all your transcripts, grades from the first semester, professor opinions and inputs on your performance and capabilities, the essay your wrote for the application, and your resume. Lol. This fall, I start writing my IRB for my study, which is TBD until I meet with my research advisor.

So, it is possible! Just really think if you reaaaalllly wanna do this. =]

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

Even if the school requires a PhD to be a primary professor, you could still be a lab assistant or TA for a PT program with a DPT degree. Most of our classes were team taught anyway, so not all of the instructors had Ph.Ds...often the course chair would, but they would bring in whoever they thought were the best suited to teach certain topics to teach.

 

[Fiveoboy11]

If a PT wants to be a clinical teacher (i.e. orthopedics), they should advance themselves with clinical training in my opinion, and a post doctorate (ScD or DPTSc..) and/or residency/fellowship and board certification would be more appropriate. If he/she wants to teach foundational classes that aren't directly clinical (i.e. kinesiology) in PT school, then a PhD is more appropriate in addition to being a PT.

 

[PTisfun]

If a PT wants to be a clinical teacher (i.e. orthopedics), they should advance themselves with clinical training in my opinion, and a post doctorate (ScD or DPTSc..) and/or residency/fellowship and board certification would be more appropriate. If he/she wants to teach foundational classes that aren't directly clinical (i.e. kinesiology) in PT school, then a PhD is more appropriate in addition to being a PT.

Lots of schools require a PhD for all. Probably unnecessary, and with 'tenure density' becoming more of a concern (i.e., costs too much), I am guessing some universities will push for more non PhD (so non teure track) faculty. The kicker is CAPTE requires all faculty to have a 'scholarly agenda.' I have yet to meet or interact or read anything that shows me that someone without a PhD can e a successful researcher. I think CAPTE makes some distinction between scholarship and research, but it is not clear to me (and I was in charge of the faculty portion of our most recent re-accreditation) so hard for me to wrap my brain around it. My opinion (and i know this is not shared by many) is that CAPTE is just one of the many voicing this 'oh it is so hard to do research. we are a young profession, etc, etc.' I think we need to stop with the excuses and start publishing good work in high impact factor journals to show the public and health care community our worth.

 

[fahimaz7]

Our program has only MD's and PhD's teaching the anatomy course, as most DPT's don't have the background for organ based anatomy, HEENT, and neuroanatomy that is needed to teach a diverse population of students.

I helped teach the PT/OT/PA students their anatomy class as a medical student.

 

[goyo1010]

Our program has only MD's and PhD's teaching the anatomy course, as most DPT's don't have the background for organ based anatomy, HEENT, and neuroanatomy that is needed to teach a diverse population of students.

I helped teach the PT/OT/PA students their anatomy class as a medical student.

Agreed. Usually, the PTs who teach our anatomy class have a PhD in Anatomy or something. Our professor has his PhD in Anatomy and Neuroscience. He also taught gross anatomy at Hershey Med for a while before starting his teaching at TWU. However, since we're SPTs, he doesn't delve deeply into the GI system, but instead gives a lot more on details with the MSK and neurological systems, than what med students get.

Completely depends on the program.