This article on physical therapy education in Brazil focuses on the expansion of teaching, field of activities, and professional profile. The number of PT courses began multiplying rapidly in 1997, but the process lacked regulation and entailed both privatization of education and a geographic concentration of courses. This increase in both courses and trained physical therapists did not redound in greater access to PT services. The privatist curative-rehabilitation model that has been adopted is not appropriate to the new epidemiological reality or to current healthcare standards. Recent years have seen initiatives to bring change to physical therapy education and build a new professional profile.
physical therapy; higher education; professional training; health education; Unified Healthcare System
