Current and Aspiring Residents/Fellows
Thinking about a residency or fellowship program, but not sure which is best for you?
You've come to the right place!
Residency, Fellowship or Certification Programs? What’s the difference?
While all are great options to continue your professional growth there are a few key differences.
- Clinical Excellence: All models involve a pathway to clinical excellence via a variety of modes. Some programs include a series of weekend continuing education courses that build on each other. Here the focus is predominately on the development of skills and treatment techniques. With Residency and Fellowship, participants engage in both skills’ development as well as mentored clinical practice to enhance the clinical reasoning in the application of such skills. Resident graduates are then also eligible to sit for the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists (ABPTS) national exam to become a Certified Clinical Specialist.
- Mentored Practice: Residency and Fellowship training includes mentored clinical practice with specialists alongside a didactic curriculum that prepares you with foundational knowledge. Here you get to spend quality time with an expert already in the field.
- Accreditation: Both Residency and Fellowship programs undergo an accreditation process by the APTA’s American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE) or through the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy. This is in contrast to certification programs where there is minimal outside oversite. Certification programs are usually managed by their host organization and assist individuals with meeting their state license requirements and continuing education credits.
It sounds like Residency and Fellowship training are very similar.
Click here to find out the difference between these two options.
What else do I need to know about Residency and Fellowship Education?
Find out here.