Between the Lines

Protecting Scope Without Losing Collaboration

How clarity, translation, and respect strengthen care

One of the most challenging realities in animal rehabilitation is navigating scope of practice.

Not because physical therapists or veterinarians want conflict—but because both professions are trained to protect patients, licenses, and outcomes, often in very different ways. When scope is unclear, misunderstood, or implicitly challenged, collaboration can quickly become strained.

For physical therapists, scope is not abstract. It is grounded in doctoral-level training in movement science, biomechanics, tissue healing, and functional progression. PTs are educated to evaluate movement, assess impairments, and design rehabilitation plans that restore function over time. These skills are second nature to PTs—and often invisible to those who have not been trained in them.

Veterinarians, meanwhile, are trained as medical doctors responsible for diagnosis, medical management, and life preservation across species. They carry legal and ethical responsibility for patient outcomes, often under intense pressure. Protecting scope, from this perspective, is about safeguarding patient safety and medical accountability.

When these two frameworks meet, misunderstanding can occur.

Veterinarians may hesitate to grant autonomy because they do not fully understand what physical therapists know. Physical therapists may feel constrained or dismissed when their expertise is questioned or reduced to “exercise instruction.” Neither response reflects bad intent. Both reflect unfamiliarity.

The challenge is not whether scope should be protected—it must be.
The challenge is how it is protected.

Physical therapists do not protect scope by insisting on independence without context. They protect it by demonstrating clinical reasoning, consistency, and value. Veterinarians do not protect scope by controlling collaboration. They protect it by ensuring clarity, communication, and safety.

When scope protection becomes adversarial, patients lose access to integrated care. When scope protection is approached collaboratively, everyone benefits.

Each profession protects the other when scope is clearly understood.

Protecting scope, then, is not about drawing harder lines. It is about using shared language, mutual respect, and appropriate boundaries so that expertise remains accessible rather than siloed.

Action Steps

For Physical Therapists

• Lead with translation, not terminology.
  Explain what you’re seeing in functional or clinical terms before using PT-specific language.

• Demonstrate scope through reasoning.
  Clear assessment logic and progression criteria build trust more effectively than asserting authority.

• Know and follow your state practice guidelines.
  Regulatory clarity strengthens professional confidence and collaboration.

For Veterinarians

• Differentiate supervision from collaboration.
  Oversight does not require micromanagement when trust and communication are strong.

• Invite explanation when unfamiliar concepts arise.
  Curiosity preserves scope without diminishing safety.

• Frame PT involvement clearly for clients.
  Public clarity reinforces professional roles and reduces confusion.

A Shared Collaborative Approach

• Define roles early—and revisit them often.
  Clear expectations around evaluation, decision-making, and communication prevent scope tension from becoming personal. When roles are explicit, collaboration becomes easier, safer, and more effective.