This year, in sunny Anaheim, CA, APTA CSM 2026 wrapped with 7 of the George Washington University (GW) Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) faculty presenting and 8 students in attendance. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Combined Section Meeting (CSM) is the largest physical therapy conference in the United States, drawing in 15,000 attendees and hosting over 400 educational sessions each year.
DPT program director Marisa Birkmeier, PT, DPT, DHSc, PCS, was one of the many presenters. Her presentations, sponsored by the APTA Academy of Pediatrics and APTA Academy of Education, centered on competency-based education in physical therapy education. Also in attendance, associate professor David Scalzitti, BS, MS, PhD hosted a research funding symposium detailing research funding opportunities for novice and experienced researchers. The session included representatives from federal agencies and private foundations to speak to researchers about the reality of finding and maintaining research funding.
CSM is not just for those presenting; attendees are able to gain insights from qualified professionals about the ever-growing field of physical therapy research and opportunities.
Current student Tasha Shuck, ‘28 attended the maximum number of sessions allowed throughout the weekend, and commented that she wished that she could have gone to more. Dr. Birkmeier echoed this sentiment, stating that CSM has grown over the years and now “it can be difficult to choose which sessions to go to” with so many outstanding options.
Shuck also spoke on how she was able to make connections between content she was learning in the classroom and its practical applications in the field, through a talk she saw about integrating didactic learning into clinical practice. This idea was reiterated by Joyce Chen, ‘27 who said she was excited to see “physical therapists at CSM advocating for health justice in cardiopulmonary spaces”, which is something she is very passionate about as a student in the GW DPT program.
Anna Gratalo, ‘26 – in collaboration with assistant professor Erin Wentzell, PT, DPT, DrPH and Connie Johnson, PT, DScPT – presented on the importance of community partnerships in physical therapy, using the collaboration between GW DPT and Fit4Work as an example. Fit4Work, founded by Dr.Johnson, is an organization focusing on preparing individuals with disabilities for the workforce and increasing vocational opportunities via functional capacity. This building of community partnerships is integrated into GW’s academic curriculum via Interprofessional Community Practicum (ICP) course required by second year DPT students.
Gratalo, who had attended CSM previously as well as in 2026 reported seeing it through a different light as she finishes her third and final year compared to her going in her first year. During her first CSM, she had only wanted to “dip her toes” into all the possibilities on offer, still unclear about where her true interests lay. During this year’s conference, she entered the conference with more “intentionality”, curating more of the interests she developed during her time in the DPT program and creating connections with other professionals as she will soon be entering the job market.
GW DPT students enjoyed a breadth of talks offered at CSM 2026; with topics ranging from the burgeoning field of K9 therapy, to the uses of tai chi in physical therapy practices, to size-based bias in caring professions at large. Student attendees were not the only ones able to attend these diverse sessions; GW DPT faculty also took advantage of their time between presentations to attend sessions, some of which detailed new pedagogical theories and best practices in grading.
The content presented at APTA CSM is often an indicator of where the profession is headed. Across the interviews with students and faculty, many reported that AI has taken center stage.
In recent years, there have been more and more conversations questioning the role of AI in PT education and practice. Dr.Birkmeier attended a presentation which detailed a new chat box that would allow PT students to role-play their patient communication skills in a simulated patient-physical therapist scenario. Dr. Scalzitti, whose expertise is in research, noted that some agencies have begun rejecting papers and grants which fall under suspicion of AI writing.
Shuck “absolutely” wants to attend next year’s CSM which will be hosted in Philadelphia. She is eager at the prospect of more of her classmates going and being able to experience CSM with them. Dr.Scalzitti commented on how he felt “refreshed” by all the different thoughts he was exposed to at the conference and is interested to see where future meetings go. Students, faculty members, and clinicians alike, everyone is excited to see all that the GW DPT program will experience at CSM 2027.