I first joined the APTA as a student when a Physical Therapy professor required us to show our student APTA membership card before we could return to class. At the time I had only a vague idea of what the APTA did for myself and the profession, but over the years I have come to a greater appreciation of what this largely volunteer association does for us as clinicians and members. It is surprising how few, 30-40%, of our fellow Physical Therapists are members of their national organization. Although cost is a commonly heard barrier to membership when you consider the membership benefits of advocacy, state and federal legislative assistance, legal guidance, and practice management the APTA’s value becomes clear.
As we move through COVID-19 pandemic and the seemingly endless changes in the news cycle, state and federal guidelines it is reassuring to know what type of leaders we have within our APTA national and state chapters. Faced with a difficult and uncertain situation they have been responsive to questions, provided key information, and helped guide clinicians’ practices to ensure the safety of clinicians and their patients. Their response over the last month has been extremely beneficial to members, but non members also have benefited from their work and leadership. Since they receive many of the benefits at no cost, the least these individuals can do is join their state and national organization to provide additional resources and their input to our association. We are all in this together and we need all hands on deck to get through this difficult time and reach our full potential as a profession.