Wait a second physical therapy has residencies AND fellowships? Some of you probably are familiar with post-PT school education, but those of you who don’t, this post is for you.

 

Foundation:

In order to understand residencies and fellowships more fully, we need to set a little foundation. All DPT programs have one goal in mind, to train excellent general practitioners.  We are prepared to work in any setting and perform well. However we are not specialized at all coming out of school, thats where residencies and fellowships come in.

Residencies:

Similar to medical residencies, physical therapy residencies are post-graduate programs that you apply for [here], that are designed to make you a specialist in an area of physical therapy. Residencies come in many shapes and setups that vary depending on the setting that you prefer. Some are research based, at universities, others are entirely clinical, where you hone your skills under the supervision and guidance of an expert.

After completing your residency you are able to sit for a board certification test in that field. For example, if you completed a residency in orthopedics you are able to sit for the Certified Orthopedic Specialist exam, which otherwise would have taken 2000 hours of orthopedic patient contact.

Its the fast road to specialization. Residencies take 12-18 months whereas 2000 hours of treating orthopedic patients can take up to 8 years.

Fellowships:

If residencies take you from general practitioners to a specialist in an area of physical therapy, then fellowships are what takes you from a specialist to a sub-specialist. Being a fellow means that you are the expert in that particular field. If you completed your orthopedic residency but what to become an expert in the sub-specialty of manual therapy then you could apply for a fellowship in orthopedic manual therapy. Fellowships take 12-18 months.

To put it simply:

We finish school as general practitioners-> residencies make you a specialist->fellowships make you a sub-specialist

//Graphic courtesy of the lovely and talented Ashli Duhamel//