Like many healthcare professions, the physical therapy workforce in the United States lacks diversity. For example, the US PT workforce is 79.4% white. This is a greater proportion than the 76.5% of individuals reporting as white in the US Census. However, only 2.2% and 4% of the PT workforce reports as black and latin respectively. This is significantly under-representative of the US census which reports 13.4% and 18.3% for black and latin individuals respectively. These discrepancies are believed to negatively impact delivery of physical therapy care to these under-represented population. Regionally, these discrepancies are even more striking. For example, Birmingham’s population is 70.3% black; making Birmingham the 4th US city with the largest percentage of citizens reporting as black. Alabama is 8th for US states reporting black citizens at 28.7% of the population. This is not reflected in the Alabama PT workforce. Additionally, a more diverse DPT student body provides better educational opportunities for preparing future PTs to respond to the needs of an increasingly more diverse US society.
Our DEI Initiatives
In 2020, we established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force made up of 22 PT students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The group examined our work over a 6-week period and produced recommendations that were used to identify priorities to enhance DEI within the department.
Efforts under way include:
- Reviewing DPT curriculum in order to enhance DEI content throughout.
- Expanding recruitment efforts targeting students from under-represented populations and marginalized communities.
- Participating in undergraduate student summer camps introducing PT to under-represented groups interested in a career in health care.
- Establishing regular communication with health studies faculty at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
- Promoting DEI professional development for department faculty and staff.
- Hosting monthly DEI discussion series for all students, faculty, and staff.
- Establishing a DEI scholarship fund for students.
Learn More. Get Involved. Make A Difference.
Educational Opportunities
Gain a greater understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion. Join us for our monthly webinar series, DEI Dialogues, or another one of our educational offerings.
Student Scholarships
We recently created a DEI fund to provide scholarships to underrepresented students and support our goal of promoting a diverse student body that ultimately reflects the diversity of the society our profession serves.
Recruitment Efforts
For many years, the department has striven to recruit students from underrepresented groups, but our efforts have increased significantly in recent years.