Our orthopedic residency program has officially received reaccreditation from the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE) of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) for 10 more years (July 31, 2016 - July 31, 2026).

Welcome to Southern Oregon's FIRST and ONLY Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency program that has first received accreditation by the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE) of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) in 2010, and again received re-accreditation for 10 more years (July 31, 2016 - July 31, 2026).

This is a 52-week (including 2-week vacation) comprehensive and structured residency program developed and led by nationally recognized experts in the field of orthopedic physical therapy.

OUR MISSION is to provide clinical education that accelerates an orthopedic physical therapist's professional development on becoming a resource, educator, and mentor to others and be recognized as a:

1.  Highly skilled patient care provider.

2.  Competent consumer/analyzer of the scientific literature.

3.  Board certified orthopedic clinical specialist (OCS).

OUR GOALS:

1.  To provide clinical education to create highly skilled patient-care providers.

2.  To provide competence with utilizing the scientific literature related to orthopedic physical therapy.

3.  To obtain diplomate status of the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS).

• 120 hours of classroom/lab instruction.
• 120 hours of independent study.
• 172 hours of 1:1 supervision while treating patients.
• 1588 hours of unsupervised clinical practice.

• Mentoring PT Interns.
• Weekly current journal article reviews related to orthopedics.
• Participation in our monthly Journal Club meetings.
• 4-hour teaching experience in orthopedics by DPT Seminars.
  4-hour observation/assisting in a primary care family practice medical group.
  

• Graduate of a CAPTE-approved physical therapy professional school.
• APTA Credentialed Clinical Instructor Certification course (optional).
• APTA/Orthopedic section membership.
• Valid Oregon physical therapy license at start of the residency program.  Temporary permit issued by the Oregon Physical Therapist Licensing Board is accepted as long as a an official Oregon PT license is acquired by the expiration date of the temporary permit.  If the resident does not obtain licensure in this state prior to the expiration date of the permit, or when the temporary permit expires, the resident will be terminated from the residency program and employment at Riverside Physical Therapy.
• Current BLS/CPR certification.
• Comply with all Riverside Physical Therapy employment requirements.

Residents will receive training in advanced clinical practice using evidence-based guidelines, small group classroom/lab instruction, integrated and supervised independent study, one-on-one clinical supervision with clinical faculty while treating patients, and preparation for the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) examination.

The curriculum also includes bimonthly quizzes from reading assignments, 3 live practical exam, 2 written exams, participation in monthly journal club meetings, mentoring physical therapy interns/students, 4-hour teaching projects, and 4-hour observation and assisting in a primary care family practice medical group.

Riverside Physical Therapy has 4 clinic facilities (with varied patient demographics) that residents have the opportunity to experience.  Each resident will have 4 solid blocked hours each week with the clinical faculty/mentor, and may also be working along side the clinical faculty/mentor on non-mentoring days.

All graduates will receive an ABPTRFE-endorsed graduate diploma upon completing the residency program.

The residency program begins on August 1 or January 2 of each year, and ends in July or December of the following year.  All residents will provide direct unsupervised patient care as full time RPT employees.

To learn how to apply for this program, please click on this tab, or click on the How to Apply tab on the left column.

Otherwise, for more details and information about the content of this residency program, please contact: