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What is the difference? Is it better to do a orthopedic residency or orthopedic manual therapy fellowship?
Orthopedic manual fellowship vs orthopedic residency
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A residency is training in a specialty area, such as orthopaedic physical therapy. A fellowship is training in a sub-specialty, such as orthopaedic manual therapy.
Not necessarily. You can become a FAAOMPT without completing an OCS.
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I am in the middle of doing a research project about this currently and I am also in the process of applying to residency programs. Both are considered post-professional education (whereas a DPT is considered and entry-level degree because it is now [gernerally] a standard).
Residencies and fellowships are not the same as a clinical internship.
Residencies are optional at this time in the land of PT. There are some well-known educators in the field that argue residencies should be a standard and a requirement in PT (similar to how residencies are viewed in medicine). According to the ABPTRFE, residency programs can be as short as 9 months and no longer than 36 months, however, there is a 1,500 hour minimum required for each program. They typically include your own caseload of patients, some mentored care (collaboration with a well-experienced clinician), interaction with graduate students, and structured learning/teaching requirements to increase proficiency, clinical skills, and clinical knowledge.
Fellowships can either follow a residency or, as was recently pointed out, they do not necessarily require previous experience in a residency program. Fellowships, like a previous poster pointed out, are a more focused route of study. For example, I hope to do a residency in Orthopaedic PT and then eventually participate in a Manual Therapy Fellowship. Some fellowships do not require previous residency experience, but make no mistake, these programs are also very selective and competitive. If you choose not to do a residency, you will likely still need to prove your interest and devotion to the area of specialty through continuing education courses you may have taken, professional memberships you hold, and your experience as a clinician. These programs are set up to train experts in a specific area of PT - requiring a minimum of 1,000 hours with the fellowship program spread across as little as 6 months, but no longer than 36 months (duration most likely to be set by the fellowship program).
Below are some things I've considered when thinking of the pros and cons of a residency.
Benefit of a residency: 1. increased clinical expertise and skill; 2. You can sit for a APTA board certification (such as getting your OCS, GCS, SCS, or other specialty certifications) after successfully finishing an ABPTRFE accredited residency program; 3. Increased marketability to potential employers (or fellowship programs); 4. Most residencies include some teaching/interaction with DPT students (looks good for people thinking of going into academia later in their career); 5. More letters to sign on the end of your name
Draw-backs of residency: 1. Many PT residencies pay a decreased wage or salary due to decreased patient treatment time (usually about 75-85% of what another PT might make) for the duration of the residency; 2. PT residencies are significantly competitive (OSU only takes on 2 residents per year for their Orthopaedic Residency)
I definitely just gave you a quick and dirty look at residencies and fellowships, and I know I did not cover all of the potential benefits and draw-backs, but that's it in a nutshell.
More information at the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE). Additionally, a centralized application system was recently launched on September 16th (set up similar to PTCAS), called RF-PTCAS.
Hope this information helps!
Residencies and fellowships are not the same as a clinical internship.
Residencies are optional at this time in the land of PT. There are some well-known educators in the field that argue residencies should be a standard and a requirement in PT (similar to how residencies are viewed in medicine). According to the ABPTRFE, residency programs can be as short as 9 months and no longer than 36 months, however, there is a 1,500 hour minimum required for each program. They typically include your own caseload of patients, some mentored care (collaboration with a well-experienced clinician), interaction with graduate students, and structured learning/teaching requirements to increase proficiency, clinical skills, and clinical knowledge.
Fellowships can either follow a residency or, as was recently pointed out, they do not necessarily require previous experience in a residency program. Fellowships, like a previous poster pointed out, are a more focused route of study. For example, I hope to do a residency in Orthopaedic PT and then eventually participate in a Manual Therapy Fellowship. Some fellowships do not require previous residency experience, but make no mistake, these programs are also very selective and competitive. If you choose not to do a residency, you will likely still need to prove your interest and devotion to the area of specialty through continuing education courses you may have taken, professional memberships you hold, and your experience as a clinician. These programs are set up to train experts in a specific area of PT - requiring a minimum of 1,000 hours with the fellowship program spread across as little as 6 months, but no longer than 36 months (duration most likely to be set by the fellowship program).
Below are some things I've considered when thinking of the pros and cons of a residency.
Benefit of a residency: 1. increased clinical expertise and skill; 2. You can sit for a APTA board certification (such as getting your OCS, GCS, SCS, or other specialty certifications) after successfully finishing an ABPTRFE accredited residency program; 3. Increased marketability to potential employers (or fellowship programs); 4. Most residencies include some teaching/interaction with DPT students (looks good for people thinking of going into academia later in their career); 5. More letters to sign on the end of your name
Draw-backs of residency: 1. Many PT residencies pay a decreased wage or salary due to decreased patient treatment time (usually about 75-85% of what another PT might make) for the duration of the residency; 2. PT residencies are significantly competitive (OSU only takes on 2 residents per year for their Orthopaedic Residency)
I definitely just gave you a quick and dirty look at residencies and fellowships, and I know I did not cover all of the potential benefits and draw-backs, but that's it in a nutshell.
More information at the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE). Additionally, a centralized application system was recently launched on September 16th (set up similar to PTCAS), called RF-PTCAS.
Hope this information helps!
I enjoyed this one. Hahaha. Are you applying to orthopedic residencies? Good luck with the application process!
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when applying to residencies and fellowships, especially very competitive ones, what matters? School quality? Clinical experience? Grades?
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The online application consists of describing your clinical rotations/internship experience, healthcare professional work experience, professional memberships, professional licenses and CEUs, certifications/credentials, residency/fellowship experience, research, awards, teaching, and volunteer experience, references, and finally, essays.
You will need to (at least) list where you will get or did get your PT degree and send in those transcripts.
I assume that some programs may have supplemental information they may request and each program likely weights each type of experience differently. I have professionally worked in higher ed for a couple of years, but because it has not been in healthcare, the application system does not let me list it. So that sucks. But I have a ton of volunteer and CEU experience from conferences and volunteering for my school with every chance possible. Additionally, I advise an undergraduate Pre-Physical Therapy student club. So you better believe I am listing all of that stuff.
The best way you can figure out what is important to each program is to contact them directly.