Understanding the terms, ‘need’ and ‘reality’ paves a better way to plan and implement strategies to bridge the ‘gap’ between the two, in the profession of physical therapy. The world confederation for physical therapy (WCPT) governs Physical therapy (PT) around the world through its member organizations in different countries. PT evolved from a medically-directed profession to a profession with autonomy and direct access practice. The very definition of PT varied from country to country and this paved way for the diversity in not only understanding the need-reality gap but also on efforts to bridge them. Clinical practice was the earliest evolved domain in PT and other three domains of PT such as education, research and administration had been emphasized recently. Evolution of education began from establishment of standards for entry-level qualifications which range from Bachelor degree to Post-Doctoral degree. Research witnessed a paradigm shift in growth of research evidence and more high quality studies are being published on effectiveness of PT evaluation and treatment methods. Although, American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) elaborated the leadership, administration, management and professionalism (LAMP) in 1999, much work is needed to be done in near future to improve the self-perceived well-being of physical therapists.

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