Listening for footsteps.

The 2001 Coulter Lecture provides an opportunity for the author to reflect on personal experiences with rehabilitation and career development. Anecdotes are presented involving Drs. William Spencer and Howard Rusk; and the author acknowledges and expresses personal gratitude to the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, and to mentors and colleagues. The importance of having an enriched and supportive environment in which to study, practice, and conduct research is emphasized. The author also comments on current issues of personal concern, including: reimbursement structures for rehabilitation services; the psychologic impact on patients and practitioners of pending cure-related interventions; the need for patient outcome research; the need for expanded models of community-based care and services; the need to promote independent living models rather than institutional or nursing home living models; the need to maintain advocacy for disability rights, including the Americans with Disabilities Act; and the need to be informed about and advocate for a United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. Copyright 2002 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation