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INTRODUCTION
The roots of the physical therapist education reach back through the ages. The development of physical therapy as an autonomous profession based on current scientific knowledge was in large part due to Per Henrik Ling of Sweden. In 1813, he founded the Royal Central Institute of Gymnastics (RCIG) in Stockholm for the training of gymnastic instructors. With the founding of RCIG, Ling provided a professional identity for the physical therapist.
Thereafter, physical therapist education evolved in different ways around the world. In the United Kingdom, it was through the Society of Trained Masseuses. In Norway and Finland, it was influenced by the work of Ling, with an emphasis on massage training. In the United States, it was as a result of the polio epidemics and the need to treat those wounded during World War I.
The World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) has established standards and guidelines for physical therapist entrylevel education that are globally relevant and available to all on its Web site. They include the "WCPT Policy Statement: Education" and the 5 WCPT guidelines related to physical therapist professional entry-level education ("WCPT Guidelines for Physical Therapist Professional Entry-Level Education"; "WCPT Guideline for Qualifications of Faculty for Physical Therapist Professional Entry-level Education Programs"; "WCPT Guideline for the Clinical Education Component of Physical Therapist Professional Entry-level Education"; "WCPT Guideline for Curricula for Physical Therapists Delivering Quality Exercise Programs Across the Life Span"; and "Guideline for a Standard Evaluation Process for Accreditation/Recognition of Physical Therapist Professional Entry-level Education Program").
Consideration of physical therapist education across member organizations in each of the 5 WCPT regions clearly demonstrates that major diversity exists in physical therapist entry-level professional education around the world.
THE ROOTS
The roots of the profession of physical therapy may have begun as early as 3,000 BC, with evidence that the Chinese practiced massage. Hippocrates (460-377 BC) made reference to friction massage.1 The use of therapeutic exercise and massage in the 16th century occurred when the Greeks realized that physical health and spiritual health were inseparable. An Italian physician, Gerolamo Mercuriale, used exercise both hygienically and curativeIy in the 1500s.2 In Sweden in the early 19th century, Pehr Henrik Ling combined massage and rhythmic exercises for health benefits.3
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries,...