St. Ambrose University
Orthopaedic Residency Program
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a clinical residency?
A clinical residency
program is a carefully planned, post-professional clinical and
didactic education experience designed to advance the resident’s
preparation as a provider of patient care services in a defined
area of clinical practice. It combines opportunities for
ongoing clinical supervision and mentoring with a theoretical
basis for advanced practice and scientific inquiry.
Residency programs focus on furthering the resident’s expertise
in examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, intervention
and the management of patients within the area of clinical
specialization. By participating in a residency program,
therapists gain many of the experiences needed to apply for
clinical specialization through the American Board of Physical
Therapy Specialties.
What is a clinical fellowship?
A clinical fellowship is a planned program of
post-professional clinical and didactic education for physical
therapists who demonstrate clinical expertise in a learning experience in an area of
clinical practice related to the practice focus of the
fellowship. (Fellows are frequently post-residency prepared or
board-certified specialists.)
What is the difference between a residency
and a clinical fellowship program?
A clinical residency program is designed to
substantially advance a resident's expertise in examination,
evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, intervention, and management
of patients in a defined area of clinical practice (specialty).
The residency experience often prepares an individual to become
a board-certified clinical specialist. In contrast, a
fellowship program is designed to provide greater depth in a
specialty or subspecialty area than that which is covered in a
residency program. Additionally, participants in a clinical fellowship program must
be licensed as a physical therapist and possess one or more of
the following qualifications: 1) specialist certification, 2)
completion of a residency in a specialty area, or 3)
demonstrable clinical skills within a particular specialty area.
Information:
For more information, contact Kevin Farrell, PT, PhD, OCS, FAAOMPT,
at
farrellkevin@sau.edu or 563-333-6405 or contact the PT
Office at 563-333-6403.
