The American Physical Therapy Association has developed a vision statement for the physical therapy profession. Known as Vision 2020, the statement projects an ideal for the future of the physical therapy business. The statement says: "Physical therapy, by 2020, will be provided by physical therapists who are doctors of physical therapy and who may be board-certified specialists. Consumers will have direct access to physical therapists in all environments for patient/client management, prevention and wellness services. Physical therapists will be practitioners of choice in patients'/clients' health networks and will hold all privileges of autonomous practice. Physical therapists may be assisted by physical therapist assistants who are educated and licensed to provide physical therapist directed and supervised components of interventions. "Guided by integrity, life-long learning, and a commitment to comprehensive and accessible health programs for all people, physical therapists and physical therapist assistants will render evidence-based services throughout the continuum of care and improve quality of life for society. They will provide culturally sensitive care distinguished by trust, respect, and an appreciation for individual differences. While fully availing themselves of new technologies, as well as basic and clinical research, physical therapists will continue to provide direct patient/client care. They will maintain active responsibility for the growth of the physical therapy profession and the health of the people it serves." Wiley Christian, chairman of the Alabama Board of Physical Therapy, said the doctorate in physical therapy is an educational standard which will make physical therapists stronger healthcare providers. "We are not doctors and don't intend to represent ourselves as such, but we will be looked at as knowledgeable in what we do," he said. Physical therapist Emmett Parker, owner of Accelerated Physical Therapy in Trussville and Pelham, agreed. "We are trying to become more specialized in physical therapy and create venues that give patients the best care," he said. "Vision 2020 gives us the lattice work to do this for the future." The Alabama Physical Therapy Association has based its goals on the Vision 2020 statement, according to David Morris, PT, MS, PhD, president of the association and an associate professor of UAB's department of physical therapy. "Vision 2020, as any association's vision statement should, has been highly effective in educating and enhancing professionalism and promoting advocacy among the association's members," he said. "In my opinion, the most relevant element of Vision 2020 is the sentence that the statement 'is guided by integrity, life-long learning, and commitment to comprehensive and accessible health programs for all people.'"