This committee will promote specialist certification and the formation of clinical residencies in geriatrics. PTs interested in becoming Geriatric Certified Specialists should visit our "GCS Preparation Suggestions," by clicking on Clinicians-->Geriatric Certified Specialists on the left-hand menu. Suggestions for additional GCS resources can be sent to the Committee Chair.

• Those working to establish geriatric residencies are encouraged to contact the Committee Chair. Post-professional residencies in geriatric physical therapy should ideally have the following characteristics:


• Include close mentorship and structured learning opportunities that guide therapists into effective, advanced practice in geriatric physical therapy.


• Work to become APTA credentialed clinical residencies.


• Prepare PTs to serve as primary care practitioners in geriatric physical therapy.


• Give residency graduates experiences across the spectrum of older adults: wellness and health promotion; musculoskeletal, neuromotor, cardiopulmonary, and integumentary practice; acute to chronic; frail to athlete.
  
  

The Awards committee functions to promote members of the section on Geriatrics that have provided extraordinary service to geriatric patients, to students as well as to the section. The specific Section awards extend to outstanding service and/or excellence in: clinical service, clinical education of students, academic preparation of students, volunteers in action, advocacy of older adults and the outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant in Geriatrics.

The purpose of the Cultural Diversity Committee is to encourage the Section on Geriatrics to consider issues of diversity in its publications, educational offerings, position statements, financial donations, and leadership. The committee meets biannually, at CSM and Annual Conference, to discuss projects and issues on diversity.

--An educational program increasing awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences, which may be barriers to effective patient/personnel/student interactions is presented each year at CSM.

--Each year the Cultural Diversity Committee places an ad in the Diversity 2000 and Beyond program booklet, which highlights the following year's CSM program.

--A six-monograph home study series on Cultural Diversity was published in 2003, covering the Hispanic, African American, Asian, Native American cultures, different religious cultures and sexual orientation.

We are supporting APTA's Cultural Competence Committee in reviewing and revising APTA documents, such as Guide to Professional Conduct, and A Normative Model of Physical Therapist Professional Education, to include cultural competence language.

The Committee is reviewing Section policy to include sexual orientation in Cultural Diversity.

The Committee continues to assist the Section in recruiting minority members onto committees or Board positions and other leadership roles.

The Finance committee advises the Board of Directors on matters pertaining to the Section’s financial needs, growth, and stability based on periodic review of income, expenditure and investments. The two specified functions of the Finance Committee are to present a balanced budget to the Board of Directors and the Membership and to annually review the Investment Policy and recommend changes to the Treasurer. These two functions generally require reviewing the budget during October and a conference call at the end of the month. Additional conference calls may be required if the Finance Committee is required to do additional tasks by the Board of Directors.

The purpose of the Geriatric Specialty Council (GSC) is to develop and maintain the process for certification and re-certification of Geriatric Specialists in Physical Therapy. The three-person committee reports regularly to the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists. The committee coordinates item writing and test development in conjunction with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), the Specialization Academy of Content Experts (SACE), and the Committee of Content Experts (CCE). The committee participates, and at times invites other section members to participate, in standard setting of the examination and key validation of specific items. The GSC reviews all re-certification portfolios, validates that complete information is contained in the Professional Development Portfolios, and makes recommendations to the ABPTS. The committee collaborates with the section and ABPTS to increase awareness of the certification by publishing information in GeriNotes, hosting an annual breakfast at Combined Sections Meeting (CSM), and other marketing projects.

All are welcome to submit articles for publication in GeriNotes. For more information, click "Publications" on the left-hand menu of this page.

The editor of the Section Home Study Courses coordinates authors and the publisher to create at least one six-monograph home study course per year. Browse our current offerings by clicking "Education" on the left-hand side of this page. If you have suggestions for home study topics, or are interested in authoring a monograph, please contact the editor!

Section on Geriatrics liaison to IPTOP: Neva Greenwald,
ngreenwald@shrp.umsmed.edu

The Section of Geriatrics is a founding member of this international group, which was officially recognized as a sub group of the World Confederation of Physical Therapy (WCPT) in 2003. The SoG appoints a liaison to this international group who serves as a voting delegate at official IPTOP meetings. Other SoG members may volunteer to become involved in IPTOP committees, which include research, newsletter, and conference planning. IPTOP also sponsors international seminars, and speakers and attendees are always welcomed. These seminars may concern a current topic, or are planned to assist a country in raising the standard of geriatric physical therapy amongst its therapists. hip
If you have questions about the IPTOP SIG, feel free to contact the SoG liaison to IPTOP.

• More Information about IPTOP


• Read IPTOP Newsletters

The Editorial Board of the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy consists of an Editor in Chief and 10 to 16 others that the Editor has invited to be board members. All have expertise relevant to geriatric physical therapy but not all are physical therapists. Neither are all members of the American Physical Therapy Association.

The Board is responsible for the content of the Journal. This responsibility is carried out primarily by assisting with the peer-review of submitted articles. However, board members contribute also by soliciting and submitting articles and by providing feedback on Journal content and procedures.

The listserv committee works to moderate the Section listserv, by reading all messages sent to the listserve and approving them before they are posted to the entire group. This is an important function that keeps the quality of listserv posts high. The listserv committee also strives to promote listserv membership and creatively enhance the usefulness of the listserv to members.

The Membership Committee exists to recruit new members and retain current membership. Committee members formulate and implement strategies designed to inform members and prospective members of the benefits of the Section on Geriatrics. The committee develops and promotes activities designed to demonstrate the advantages of section membership. Other duties include assisting with booth activities at the CSM and National Meetings, conducting exiting member surveys, as well as welcoming and encouraging all members to contribute and be involved in Section activities. Committee member participation is flexible, depending on members time and availability.

This active committee is responsible for finding the best candidates for the elections that are held once a year. The members serve a three-year term and take on more responsibility each year until in the last of the three years the committee member is the chair of the Nominating committee. The committee meets at both Combined Sections and Annual meetings. The chair represents the committee at the Section Board meetings, however the committee stays separate from the board to maintain their independence in finding the best candidates. They attend Member Meetings and talk to the membership to encourage leaders to run for office. The job entails phone and e-mail meetings with the other committee members and communication to the membership at large and to specific candidates.

The Program Committee strives to slate a high-quality range of evidence-based presentations for the Combined Sections Meeting (usually held in February) and APTA's Annual Conference (usually held June/July). CSM is the biggest meeting for the Section: most programming at Annual is managed by APTA, but the Section on Geriatrics is responsible for all sessions related to the aging adult at CSM.

We welcome your suggestions for CSM programming: to express interest in a topic, or in presenting yourself, please contact the Committee Chair. If you would like to present a poster or platform presentation at CSM, please see APTA's website (submission deadline is usually in July). Read more about CSM and Annual Conference at www.apta.org by clicking on "events."

The Regional Course Committee is in charge of developing and coordinating geriatric-based continuing education programs that would be appealing to our membership. Our goals are to provide educational opportunities for members who are unable to attend APTA conferences and to provide that education at affordable prices. We strive to locate these courses in locations other than the current year’s CSM and Annual Confernce sites, in order to reach members who may be too far away to attend these events.

The committee assists the chair with brainstorming topics, finding speakers, and finding locations for the courses. Committee members may also serve as on-site coordinators and leaders of Town Hall style meetings during these courses.

The Reimbursement and Legislation Committee is concerned with monitoring federal legislation as it relates to reimbursement for physical therapy services. The Committee Chair is the Federal Affairs Liaison (FAL) who is appointed by the President of the Section on Geriatrics.


The Committee Chair is responsible for facilitating the R&L Committee, which consists of volunteer members. Members assist the Chair by staying current on reimbursement issues relative to his/her region or state. Particular issues of interest for the 2004 year include: the therapy cap, Medicare direct access, Medicare reform, Medicaid reform, PPS reform, and CPT code development. The committee communicates through email, phone calls, and at APTA conferences.

The Research Committee evaluates and addresses the research needs of the Section. Some of these activities include review of abstracts for CSM, recognition of research activities through presentation of research awards, and focusing on research objectives for the Section such as educating Section members about evidenced-based practice. The committee communicates through email, phones calls and at APTA conferences.

The goal of the Section on Geriatrics Advocate is to provide two-way communication between the Section on Geriatrics and the state chapter. This includes information from the Section such as the call for nominations for Section awards, updates on reimbursement/legislative issues, assistance with membership campaigns, identification of possible research/clinical collaborations, assistance with regional educational programming and other requests from the BoD and committee chairs. It also includes providing information to the Section regarding state legislative issues such as practice act revisions, state reimbursement issues, grassroots activity/networking, etc.

Contact your SoG Advocate

• GOAL I – To assure a comprehensive knowledge base for physical therapist professional education regarding the examination and intervention for the exercise needs of the aging population


• GOAL II – To establish physical therapist practice guidelines for safe and effective exercise parameters for the aging population


• GOAL III – To identify the needs for and enable consistent integration of the best evidence to support exercise for the aging population


• GOAL IV – To effectively educate the physical therapy and other professional communities about the role and benefits of physical therapists as exercise experts for the aging population


• GOAL V – To effectively educate the consumer communities of the role and benefits of physical therapists as exercise experts for the aging population

Download Task Force Report, Sept 2005

Our website is revised and updated constantly to reflect our growing and expanding practice as the preferred provider for the older adult. It is an integrated member benefit reflecting content for the clinician, instructor, administrator, researcher, student, and consumer, built by members for the Section on Geriatrics of the APTA.