Abstract
The purpose of this research study was to determine the effects of an American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) Pediatric Specialty Certification (PCS) on a physical therapist's status and clinical practice. This information may be useful to physical therapists with or without a PCS. There is a gap in the research regarding the effects specialty certification has on the physical therapist and this study aimed to begin to fill that gap. A 29-question electronic survey instrument was utilized to collect data. The survey was electronically mailed to 272 physical therapists with an active PCS. The total number of useable survey responses was 111, for a response rate of 44%. The demographic data were consistent with national averages reported by the APTA in many of the categories; however, there were higher percentages of older therapists in this study comparatively. The results of this study showed the majority of participants did not experience a change in status or clinical practice. Participants agreed with the belief that other physical therapists respected them more but were neutral on the belief physicians and patients' parents respected them more. Although this study did not find any status or clinical practice changes, 78% reported they were more satisfied with their careers and 83.8% reported they planned on renewing the PCS. These results indicated that the participants in this study gained satisfaction and fulfilled a sense of professional duty by earning a PCS that was considered worth the time and cost required to renew.