Fellowship in Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy

Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy (OMPT) is a specialized area of physical therapy practice utilized in the management of musculoskeletal conditions and based on clinical reasoning and the use of highly specific manual techniques and therapeutic exercises. The goal of OMPT fellowship training is the development of ethical and reflective advanced clinical practitioners who are prepared to serve as direct access providers.

Fellows are post-residency prepared or board-certified specialists who demonstrate clinical expertise in physical therapy. This program provides advanced clinical and didactic instruction and mentoring within the subspecialty area of OMPT practice to create an environment for advanced clinical skill-building.

Program Format

The fellowship is approximately one year in length with participants hired as full-time employees at one of the outpatient clinical sites associated with the program. Each clinical site provides the breadth and depth of clinical experiences and expertise to further prepare fellows to be direct access providers and to become Fellows in the AAOMPT. During the program, participants receive weekly 1:1 mentoring by expert clinicians and faculty throughout their experience and are provided weekly scheduled training in manual skills. They will also participate in regular grand rounds and journal clubs and will have their mentor available for discussion during the approximately 35 hours per week that the participant will be treating patients independently, allowing for ample exposure to refine their clinical skills.

Didactic training will be conducted through various methods utilizing technology, and more complex areas of patient management are emphasized earlier on in the fellowship program to allow the maximal amount of mentored time in these areas.

Since teaching is paramount to learning, participants will also be afforded the opportunity to participate in teaching and scholarship experiences to advance their skills in these areas in preparation for becoming future leaders in the physical therapy profession.

Standards of competency are based on the requirements established by the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE) and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT).

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