Success Story

Success Stories highlight how APTA members identified a challenge in their clinical or workplace environment and implemented a creative, practical solution. Examples include launching a community program, improving clinic workflows, or developing new mentorship approaches.

• Around 1,000 words
• Suggested sections: The Issue, The Solution, The Outcome, Reflection, and In Their Own Words (quotes from those involved)
• Clear, concise, and focused on actionable insights
• View past Success Stories for reference

Defining Moment

Defining Moment articles feature a pivotal experience — clinical, personal, or professional — that shaped your path in physical therapy. These pieces are first-person, narrative, and reflective.

• Around 2,000 words
• First-person storytelling
• Focus on a specific moment, case, event, or realization that influenced your career
• Read past Defining Moments to understand the narrative style

Perspective/Opinion (Op-Ed)

These are opinion pieces that allow you to share a professional viewpoint on an issue affecting the physical therapy community.

• 750–1,000 words
• Start with a clear thesis
• Support your points with professional experience, trends, or evidence (no academic citations)
• Write in accessible, plain language for a broad audience
• Conclude with a strong, relevant takeaway connected to the profession today
• See what types of topics we've covered in previous Perspectives

What We're Looking for Right Now

We are especially interested in content tailored to early-career clinicians. If your idea offers guidance, encouragement, or insight for PTs and PTAs in their first years of practice, we encourage you to submit.

If you would like to volunteer to be a potential source for an upcoming feature story in APTA Magazine, you can view our planned 2026 features in our media kit. Email us with which story you’re interested in being interviewed for and your qualifications as a subject-matter expert.

Before You Submit

Please keep the following in mind:

• APTA Magazine is not peer reviewed. We do not use footnotes or academic formatting, and submissions should be written in a clear, professional, and accessible style.
• Review timeline. It may take 4–6 weeks for our team to evaluate whether your submission aligns with our content strategy. We aim to confirm receipt within one week.
• Editorial process. All accepted submissions undergo editing for clarity, style, structure, and length. As such, all drafts must be submitted as a Word or other text document — we cannot accept PDFs for review.
• Membership requirement. We only accept submissions from current APTA members. Check your membership status, renew your membership, or become an APTA member today.