APTA have been, and will continue to be, a very close ally and friend to the APA. 

It was an honour to engage with them at a strategic and political level as a guest.

Notably, I had the chance to attend one and a half days of APTA board meetings where I observed how the board articulates, governs, strategises and interacts with staff and members. 

It was amazing to see APTA’s style of governance, and to watch how they communicate and adjudicate to reach a final recommendation. 

This is a critical process, which can either make or break the culture of the workplace and their ability to come to the right decision for the association—and therefore the profession as a whole.

I came away with a great deal of guidance, which can inform our style of leadership.

I also had the opportunity to sit in and contribute to the professional development of APTA’s board as they address an issue close to my heart: diversity, equity and inclusiveness. 

While APTA appears to be at the beginning of their journey, they are committed to ensuring that American physical therapists and their association have an understanding of different cultures, beliefs and
experiences. 

I admire how they are looking at barriers as opportunities to enhance the cultural awareness and
safety of their members.

Similar to the APA, advocacy is a significant pillar of APTA’s strategic direction and plan. 

APTA seeks to provide physical therapists with the opportunity to use its full scope of practice. 

The effect of this is to add value to the American health system, to provide economic evidence of the efficacy of physical therapy for the health spend, and to demonstrate how essential physical therapy is to all Americans.

I was lucky enough to spend time at the Day on the Hill conference where engaged members of APTA converged in Washington DC for a day of learning about advocacy from lobbyists, congress representatives and specialists.

This even included a special presentation from Bill Clinton’s past senior advisor.

The conference provided me with an amazing opportunity to learn from experts from across the world and formulate how to incorporate their teachings into the APA. 

I was particularly focused on how to advocate personally to elected representatives, the do’s and
don’ts of government meetings, how to highlight the key messages and how to articulate our proposals.

Finally, I was fortunate to be a keynote speaker at APTA’s corporate leaders’ conference where all of the medium and large employers, administrators and corporate entities gathered in one room to engage with
each other and the association.

I spoke about how we are progressing through health reform in Australia and our journey within the APA;
outlining our advocacy strategy, policy blueprint, why we commissioned the economic value of physiotherapy and the value of physiotherapy in Australia reports. 

I also spoke about how the APA has formulated a consistent message as part of our significant advocacy effort post-COVID. 

I was able to share some of our knowledge, barriers, opportunities and political visions.

I look forward to continuing our engagement and interaction with APTA, and advancing our similar advocacy agendas.

Take care.

Scott Willis APAM 

APA National President