NAIOMT

A clinical residency is a planned program of post professional clinical and didactic education for physical therapists that is designed to significantly advance the physical therapist resident's preparation as a provider of patient care services in a defined area of clinical practice. It combines opportunities for ongoing clinical supervision and mentoring with a theoretical basis for advanced practice and scientific inquiry. The physical therapy profession has realized that in order to stay relevant, we must continually push our boundaries in terms of what we know and how we apply that knowledge. Information is so available, so quick to change, and to accumulate, that there is a strong need for structured programs aimed at younger therapists, to help them organize their new skills, and develop structured, intelligent approaches to what they do. It should also be noted this kind of post-professional education program has formed the basis of medical education for many, many years. In some ways, we have been slow to get on board. It is increasingly difficult to be a generalist in physical therapy these days, simply because of the vast amount of knowledge and specialization that already exists. A residency program simply helps you become an expert at an early stage in your career.

A clinical residency program is designed to substantially advance a resident's expertise in examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, intervention, and management of patients in a defined area of clinical practice (specialty). This focus may also include community service, patient education, research, and supervision of other health care providers (professional and technical). Often, the residency experience prepares an individual to become a board-certified clinical specialist. A fellowship program is designed to provide greater depth in a specialty or subspecialty area than that which is covered in a residency program. Additionally, applicants of a clinical fellowship program must be licensed as a physical therapist and possess one or more of the following qualifications: 1) specialist certification, 2) completion of a residency in a specialty area, or 3) demonstrable clinical skills within a particular specialty area. Lastly, the clinical residency program should be completed within a minimum of 1,500 hours and in no fewer than nine (9) months and no more than 36 months. A clinical fellowship program should be completed within a minimum of 1,000 hours and in no fewer than six (6) months and no more than 36 months. Programs whose timeframe falls outside of these parameters will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

In many ways, the orthopedic residency it is designed for the new graduate. Many new graduates become frustrated during this time. You are all excited, begin a new job, get busy, and all of a sudden you’ve been out two years and haven’t really developed at all. Immediate entry into a residency allows you to take further, specialized course work in your area of clinical interest, and allows you to consolidate and expand upon what you learned in school. Most importantly, the residency program offers a structured clinical mentorship program that ensures you will have a qualified, experienced mentor guiding your learning process the entire way, with a minimum of 150 1:1 supervision hours. You will also have the freedom during the program to develop your own style and become completely independent with patient care.

It is definitely true that you will need to be employed during the residency program, but the kind of position you have can influence how easy it is or isn’t to complete a residency program. When you are job hunting, look for practice locations that are supportive of professional development, and perhaps facilities that will be willing to contribute to the most of your further education – after all, they are also benefiting from having a residency trained therapist on their staff. You also need to be in a facility that sees a lot of orthopedic patients/clients.

It may well be. Although the Residency Program is targeted towards the new graduate, or a therapist with less than two years of experience, there are many circumstances where the Residency Program could be right for you. Perhaps you are very experienced, but in another clinical area, and are looking to make a change to orthopedics. Perhaps you have been out 3-5 years, and want to sit for the OCS exam, but feel you are not adequately prepared. Or, you may be considering beginning an advanced academic degree, but are not quite sure whether the intensity of such a program is for you. Because all the credits you take during the Residency Program actually count towards a DSc, or t-DPT, at Andrews University, the Residency Program can be a good way to begin your new journey.

The first part of a residency program is the didactic section. This is dictated by a publication that the APTA produces, called the Description of Specialty Practice. That documents describes the specific elements that must be part of the curriculum. Each specialty area has its own description. More information about the ‘DSP’ can be found here. The delivery of the curriculum in our program is broken down into an online component, and a physical attendance course component. The second component is a supervised clinical practice one. Every resident must receive a minimum of 150 one on one hours throughout the duration of the program. This means that you will spend at least that amount of time with an experienced clinician who has received training in how to direct your learning experience. This is a critical component of a residency program and in no small part determines the overall learning outcomes. This is an area that you should focus on very heavily when you are deciding between programs.

It is important to note that you are a licensed physical therapist, and will be in full-time employment, with a completely independent professional life, schedule, and patient care responsibilities. The Residency program is designed to augment that, provide a structure, mentorship, and guidance to your development. The didactic component will be a progression of what you learned in school, not a review. While there are examinations and assessments, and courses to attend, they all occur in the context of you as the licensed professional.

There is no direct link between the Residency Program and the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists (ABPTS) Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) examination. You are not required to complete a residency program before you can sit for the OCS, nor do you have to pass the examination in order to complete a residency program. However, residency program’s are designed to prepare you to sit for the OCS examination, and many students do take the examination and become OCS certified as an outcome of the Residency Program.

The North American Institute of Orthopedic Manual Therapy (NAIOMT) was founded in the United States by Canadian physiotherapists, manual therapy instructors and examiners, Erl Pettman, James Meadows, Cliff Fowler and the late David Lamb, to facilitate their philosophy of the sharing of manual therapy skills. In 1982 they began teaching a series of four manual therapy course levels in Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and Knoxville. The Clinical Fellowship program began in 1993, and was credentialed as a fellowship program in 2001. The NAIOMT system has evolved from the Canadian manual therapy program to provide a progressive series of courses and instruction with a strong emphasis on biomechanics, mobilization/manipulation and the interaction of the extremity with the spine (the quadrant system). The Canadian system is possibly the first eclectic manual therapy system, encourages diversity in approaches and avoids adherence to a single view or system. For further information about the specific mission and philosophy of NAIOMT, please click here.