Last weekend Herman and Wallace faculty met in Florida to work on the Pelvic Therapy Practitioner Certification(PTPC) development. The team was led fearlessly by Patricia Young of Kryterion, who assists the Institute in creating a test of the highest quality. Working within the framework of the patient/client management model that appears in the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice (APTA), faculty worked on exhaustive lists of concepts with which a pelvic rehab therapist must be competent. The work completed this past weekend allows Kryterion to create the practice analysis that will be foundational for all other elements of the test development.
The intent of the PTPC is to recognize expertise in treatment of pelvic floor and pelvic girdle dysfunction. Some of the topics that will be included on the certification exam will be pelvic anatomy, pathophysiology, medical and rehabilitative interventions, outcomes measurement, and ethics. If you currently receive the Herman & Wallace newsletter, you will be notified when Certification information is updated. If you are not currently receiving newsletters, click hereif you wish to sign up.
While the faculty worked hour after hour to move the certification process forward, there was also a lot of sharing of knowledge, learning of new vocabulary words such as "criticality" and eating of excellent food such as the kale ceasar salad made by Institute administrator Siv Prince.The letters "BBGOSO" were substituted whenever someone wanted to refer to bowel, bladder, gynecologic, obstetric, sexual, and orthopedic conditions (I even heard a rumor about a t-shirt being created). Theweekend was a great opportunity to spend quality time with other people who are passionate about their work, and who all have unique contributions that he or she is willing to share. The next step of the PTPC process will involve many pelvic rehabilitation providers as a survey involving job tasks will be sent out to those on the Herman & Wallace list. Please consider participating in the survey when you see that e-mail.The Institute looks forward to having the Pelvic Therapy Practitioner Certification available as a means of recognizing the specialized care that you provide to your patients.