Sanman
O.G.
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2000
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I don't know who is pushing for the doctoral requirements for things like physical therapists... I wonder if it's the schools. Psychology is one of the only fields where full funding still exists for many students, with a degree that leads to professional licensure. As a sector, higher ed has a lot of financial problems, despite costing a heck of a lot more than it used to. Highly profitable graduate programs are a way to fill those gaps.
Schools and professional orgs are pushing more professional doctorates (DPT, DNP, etc) similar to the PsyD model in order to increase education length and be "seen" as on par with physicians. This model was already tried in Pharmacy (PharmD), Optometry (O.D.), Psychology (PsyD), and other areas with minimal success. APA/ABPP is now pushing for board certification in all areas for similar reasons.
Hospitals and care providers are looking for lesser educated providers to reduce salaries and bottom line cost. This all leads to many people being overeducated and underemployed when they go to get a job. There are not jobs for all these doctors and specialists to fill. You end up with PharmDs at CVS, PhD/PsyDs at CMHCs/ therapy positions, DPTs doing basic rehab a PTA could do, I even know of a neuropsych doing edu evals for a school system.