Course Description

This session provides a comprehensive overview of the process for developing and submitting motions to the American Physical Therapy Association’s (APTA) House of Delegates. Participants will learn the essential steps for crafting clear, impactful, and evidence-based motions that can influence policy and organizational priorities. The session covers best practices for identifying issues, formulating proposals, gathering supporting evidence, and navigating the submission process. Attendees will also explore strategies for collaborating with stakeholders and ensuring motions align with organizational goals. Through case studies and practical exercises, participants will gain skills to effectively contribute to the governance of APTA and advocate for change within the profession. Whether new to the process or seeking to refine their skills, attendees will leave equipped to develop well-structured motions that can shape the future of physical therapy practice and policy.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the key components of a well-constructed House of Delegates motion
• Outline the steps for developing, supporting, and submitting a motion to the APTA HOD
• Apply best practices for evidence gathering and stakeholder collaboration in motion development
• Analyze case examples to identify effective motion strategies for organizational impact

Course Description

This session will explore residency and fellowship educational opportunities within Virginia and beyond. Presentation will include accreditation process and requirements, common curricular activities, and the focus on mentoring within residency programs. A discussion about benefits and potential barriers to residency/fellowship education will be included.

Learning Objectives

• Attendees will
• become aware of current residency and fellowship practice areas including available programs in Virginia and beyond
• become aware of residency accreditation process and requirement, and common clinical and curricular activities within residency programs
• become aware of strategies used for mentoring within a residency/fellowship program
• acknowledge benefits and potential barriers to residency/fellowship education

Course Description

This session will provide participants with practical strategies for implementing and evaluating interprofessional education (IPE) activities within physical therapist education programs, while ensuring alignment with accreditation expectations from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) and supporting meaningful student learning outcomes.

We will begin with a review of interprofessional education and of the relevant standards from CAPTE that emphasize the importance of preparing physical therapist graduates to collaborate effectively with other health professionals to improve patient outcomes.

The presentation will then describe how our DPT program has operationalized these standards through structured interprofessional learning activities. We will detail one of these activities - a collaborative learning experience that we have designed between physical therapy and nursing students, in which learners work together to analyze a patient case, discuss discipline-specific roles, develop a coordinated care plan, and carry out the plan. The activity promotes the understanding of professional scope of practice, enhances communication across disciplines, and fosters collaborative problem-solving.

Finally, the presentation will review our program’s ongoing assessment of this initiative and include a discussion on validated measures that can be used to track IPE outcomes. Data analysis will reveal the impact of the activity on interprofessional socialization among health professions students and their readiness to function in interprofessional teams. We intend to close the presentation by asking participants to share examples of how they have formally implemented IPE into their programs and how they addressed any barriers.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the relevant standards from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) related to interprofessional education and collaborative practice within physical therapist education programs
• Examine the design and implementation of an interprofessional learning activity involving physical therapy and nursing students
• Interpret outcome data collected from the interprofessional learning activity to assess the impact of interprofessional education on socialization and valuing based on student attitudes and perceptions of teamwork, communication, and understanding of professional roles
• Apply approaches for selecting and analyzing outcome measures to assess the impact of interprofessional education initiatives and inform program improvement

Course Description

Clinicians, students, and educators are daily “scientific communicators,” yet clinical decision-making—and everyday life—is vulnerable to cognitive bias, faulty logic, and low-quality evidence and misinformation. This 1.5-hour session provides a practical, non-promotional framework for scientific skepticism—an approach to knowledge that prioritizes reliable, valid conclusions over comforting or convenient ones.

Participants will (1) recognize high-impact metacognitive traps that distort judgment (eg, overconfidence/Dunning–Kruger, motivated reasoning, cognitive dissonance, and common perception biases), (2) evaluate claims using “argument architecture” (premises → logic → conclusion) and identify common logical fallacies that derail clinical conversations and public discourse (eg, non sequitur, straw man, ad hominem, post hoc, appeal-to-nature, argument from authority), and (3) apply a repeatable skeptical checklist to reduce cherry-picking and motivated interpretation.

In addition to improving clinical reasoning, the session explicitly equips participants to recognize misinformation and logical fallacies in daily life (news, influencer culture, social media, and health marketing) and to communicate more clearly with patients, colleagues, and communities.
Cultural and ethical components are integrated throughout, focusing on professional responsibility, humility, transparency, and the downstream harms of poor reasoning and unreliable evidence in patient care and public trust.

Learning Objectives

• Identify at least 3 metacognitive/cognitive bias patterns (eg, overconfidence, motivated reasoning, cognitive dissonance) that commonly distort clinical reasoning
• Analyze clinical or professional claims using argument architecture (premise → logic → conclusion) and correctly label at least 3 common logical fallacies
• Apply a practical skeptical checklist (“check yourself/turning inward”) to evaluate the strength of evidence and reduce cherry-picking and motivated interpretation
• Translate one research/social media claim into an ethically and culturally responsible clinical message (what we know, what we don’t, and what we should do next)

Course Description

This session offers an engaging overview of leadership pathways within the APTA Virginia. Participants will learn about the chapter’s organizational structure, key leadership roles, and how to become actively involved in shaping the future of physical therapy in Virginia. The session will cover opportunities for leadership at various career stages, from student involvement to seasoned practitioners, emphasizing skills development, advocacy, and organizational engagement. Through practical examples and evidence-based strategies, attendees will discover how to leverage chapter activities, committees, and initiatives to grow as leaders, influence local policies, and advocate for the profession. The goal is to inspire attendees to take an active role in their professional community, fostering leadership, collaboration, and advocacy aligned with their career goals and values.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the organizational structure and leadership roles within the Virginia APTA Chapter
• Identify opportunities for involvement and leadership development at different career stages within the chapter
• Develop strategies for effective engagement, advocacy, and professional growth through chapter activities
• Analyze how chapter leadership contributes to advancing physical therapy practice, policy, and community impact within Virginia

Course Description

Medical gaslighting has been defined as the dismissal or minimization of pain and other symptoms by healthcare providers. Frequently, physiological signs and symptoms may be misattributed to psychological causes, such as stress, anxiety or depression. In addition to causing diagnostic delays and threatening health outcomes, medical gaslighting compounds psychological distress and can cause medical mistrust and avoidance of care. Consequences also include trauma and threats to effective self-management, leading patients to disengage and discontinue self-advocacy and other help seeking behaviors. Medical gaslighting can be the result of provider ignorance, power imbalances, cultural differences, and systemic bias within healthcare. Evidence shows that women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people of color, older adults, and people with disabilities are disproportionately affected by medical gaslighting. This educational session explores aspects of medical gaslighting through the lens of structural inequalities, interpersonal dynamics, and lack of trauma informed approaches within the healthcare environment. Discussion will include the role of physical therapists in promoting patient empowerment by applying principles of trauma informed care and collaborative communication. We will review the findings of our recent quantitative and qualitative research to identify effective strategies to prevent and address medical mistrust and its associated impact on physical and mental wellness.

Learning Objectives

• Define medical gaslighting using quantitative and qualitative data demonstrating its prevalence and impact on people with chronic pain and other physical impairments
• Discuss the effects of medical gaslighting on physical and mental wellness, particularly within marginalized populations, such as people with disabilities
• Apply principles of trauma informed care and collaborative communication strategies to reduce effects of medical gaslighting by promoting patient empowerment