St. Luke's University Health Network Orthopaedic Res

Learn about this program:

The URI Orthopaedic Residency is a nationally established program. The mission of the URI Orthopaedic Residency Program is to inspire and empower the resident to reach their full potential as a clinical specialist in orthopaedic physical therapy.

• Program application deadline: 10/15/2022
• Program start date: 1/3/2023
• Program duration: 12 month
• Number of resident/fellow openings per cohort: 60
• Tuition cost: $12,000 split between the resident and clinic

Contact:

8205 President's Drive
Hummelstown, PA, 17036

Main Contact:

Grace Mollahan
vmollohan@urpt.com
717-220-2183

• Is there a salary or stipend? Yes
  • If yes, what salary can the resident expect?
    100% salary
     
• Are there benefits? Yes
  • If yes, what are they?
    Full health, 401K, PTO, continuing education, retirement benefits as an Upstream Associate.
     
• Is there housing assistance? No
   
• Clinical site information:
  We offer locations in 28 states with local mentors in each location. Over 70 available mentors and extensive clinical didactic faculty are part of the program. All of our mentors are associates so they are able to speak to the greater company culture and can help you improve not just on diagnostic decision making, but also on all of the attributes to be a successful physical therapist in outpatient physical therapy.
   
• Clinical mentorship information:
  4-5 hours of live mentorship, all hours are 1:1 and split between the resident and mentor's clinic .
   
• What is a distinguishing feature or selling point of your program?
  Our programming is offered in a blended learning format with centralized online learning to build comradery amongst the cohort and regional labs to allow ease of completion from the resident's preferred home location. We value mentorship and have established a very rigorous mentor training program to enhance the mentoring experience for each resident. Upon graduation, we also provide exam prep resources to further assist residents in obtaining board certification.
• Is there the ability to work with a specialized population(s)? Yes.
  • If yes, what populations(s)?
    We work with each participant to identify populations of interest and place them into clinics that also serve those populations including high school and college athletic teams, pelvic floor, geriatrics, pediatrics, vestibular and more!

Faculty and/or Resident/Fellow-in-training Spotlight

Spotlighted Faculty:

• What is your role within the program?
  "My role is mentor coordinator since 2020. This means I get the opportunity to oversee relationships between orthopedic residents and their mentors. Mentoring is my passion! I love the tangible changes in knowledge and performance that come from direct clinical mentoring. My goal is to provide resources for residents and mentors to ensure the most beneficial mentoring experience. I also am a lead faculty for online courses and labs and have served as a mentor since the program's inception."
   
• What separates this program from others like it?
  "The thing that sets this program apart from other programs is the that while it is a large multi-site program it maintains a very "small program" feel. The core faculty are incredibly invested and accessible and take time to personally touch base with each resident at different points throughout the year. Through bimonthly resident and mentor calls, there is a concerted effort to make sure that all participants and faculty are well informed and that program goals are being met. There is also the opportunity for graduates of our program to become mentors or instructors in the future."
   
• Why do you think advanced orthopedic training through residency and fellowship is important?
  "Advanced orthopedic training is important because it elevates the profession! Residency training allows a more novice therapist to improve clinical reasoning strategies and to become a more efficient and effective clinician which enhances patient care, including improved patient outcomes. Advanced training creates the leaders of the future in our profession."
   
• Please share a little-known, fun fact that others may be surprised to learn about you.
  "I have mentored more than dozen residents. My favorite part about being faculty in a residency program is to see my former residents go on to become mentors and leaders themselves; it is incredibly rewarding."

Spotlighted Resident: 

• What type of population are you working with at your program?
  "My clinic is in a rural community, as a result we see a wide variety of diagnosis throughout all age ranges. Mainly we see surgical and non surgical orthopedic conditions with an even range of young athletes, factory workers anywhere from 20-60, and a heavy amount of shoulder, hip, and knee replacements in patients 50+ ."
   
• Why did you select this program?
  "I chose this program due to the flexibility of education schedule due to it being largely online as well as the ability to work full time in the clinical environment. I was a student with the company and my CI was residency trained. After learning from him, I noticed a significant difference between clinicians that did and did not have residency training. I was lucky enough to have what I think of as a very good musculoskeletal education thanks to my professors and couldn't imagine my education ending when I graduated from PT school, I still needed to know more. Additionally, we graduate from PT school with a wealth of information that we began learning how to delineate when out on rotation however that was only the beginning of our clinical experience. As a result, I felt this program was right for me because I wanted to learn how to best funnel all the information we were just given over the past 3 years. Lastly, working full time while learning gives us the opportunity to apply the info we are gaining in real time as well as get feedback from mentors."
   
• Why did you pursue advanced orthopedic training through residency/fellowship?
  "I wanted advanced ortho training because at the end of the day, no matter what setting we go into, ortho will still be the foundation of our career. It is specific enough to demonstrate significant knowledge of skills in the setting you are working in, but general enough to still excel in all aspects of PT. I wanted to do advanced training in order to confidently address any patient that walks into my clinic. Patients come in all shapes, sizes, and walks of life and I felt that residency training could give me the best chances of being able to effectively treat each and every one of them. Lastly, I want to further my career as much as possible and teach others in things such as continuing education or even in post grad programs such as residencies as a result, this was the first step in accomplishing those goals."
   
• How do you think residency/fellowship will change your career trajectory going forward?
  "I think completing this program is the first step in opening a door in any direction a clinician wants to take their career. It gives us a solid foundation to become clinicians practicing at the highest level, to move into leadership roles and advocate for our profession. Residency is just step one."
   
• Please share a little-known, fun fact that others may be surprised to learn about you.
  "I'm a twin!"