This past weekend, I concluded my fourth trip to Atlanta, GA as a part of Emory’s post-graduate physical therapy residency program. During the course of the weekend, I had ample opportunity to interact with the residents and even converse with a recent DPT graduate who is considering the residency program himself. The common theme that emerged from these conversations was the shared desire of these graduates for authentic mentorship and clinical guidance.
Most of the seasoned clinicians I talk to regarding their experiences immediately following reception of their diplomas describe what amounts to a minor (or in some cases major) state of shock at the dramatic gulf that can exist between working in a clinical rotation as compared to that first patient where you are truly flying solo.
My first few years of practice involved quite a bit of struggle as I groped and wrestled with the concepts I had been struggling to cram into my brain (mainly for grades and in order to pass the boards) which were now, in many cases, simply inadequate to help me deal with the patient sitting in front of me. The concept of residency simply was not one of which I was even aware. It is still a notion only slowly asserting itself within the over-arching culture that is physical therapy in the United States.
In recent years, as I have become more integrally involved in the physical therapy curricula of now three programs (LSU, Emory and Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University), I’m recognizing that the traditional model of PT education needs to shift.
We need to create situations that at least encourage, if not at some point outright mandate, residency programs for our graduating therapists. However, adding an additional year of academic training to an already significant cost burden (with at this point in history, a less than immediate financial return) is unrealistic. It seems clear that some of the more generalized information and sometimes superfluous coursework required in our graduate DPT programs needs to be amended.
In the short run, I encourage all graduating physical therapists pursuing the option of a residency program to strongly evaluate the quality of the programs you are considering. It is not enough to simply make the reception of an additional credential (OCS or otherwise) your end goal without a thorough vetting of the instructors involved in the program. Talk to recent graduates of the respective programs and ask them for their candid feedback. Do your homework!
I humbly and with gratitude thank the programs that I’m involved with for the opportunity to help form the next generation of physical therapists, and pledge myself to the continued pursuit of excellence in education.
Cheers! 🍺
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