Leaps and Bounds

New residencies highlight PT program’s growth

Only five years ago, the Physical Therapy Program in the School of Health Related Professions at the University of Mississippi Medical Center was a master’s-level program. Last year, the school graduated its first class of physical therapists at the new Doctorate of Physical Therapy level. And now, the department has two blossoming residency programs to its credit.

“We’ve been leap-frogging,” said Neva Greenwald, associate professor and chair of physical therapy. “We’ve done well for a rural state because there are less than 100 (PT) residency programs in the country.”

Last summer, a 2008 graduate of the SHRP began a one-year sports physical therapy residency, and in July, a 2009 graduate will begin training in neurology, also to last for one year.

The specialist certification program for the physical therapy profession dates back 30 years, according to the American Physical Therapy Association. In that time, eight different specialty areas have been developed. The goal of specialist certification is to cultivate areas of specialty practice in physical therapy while promoting the highest level of patient care.

Residency training prepares physical therapists to take the exam to become certified in that specialty area.

“This is a way for them to get recognized for their expertise and practice,” Greenwald said. “The residents have a plan of study worked out so they can get certain patient-care experiences, and it’s the University Hospital that helps provide those experiences.”

In the case of the sports residency, Paul Kosko has spent the past year splitting his time between the Medical Pavilion on campus as well as working with the assistant athletic director at the University of Mississippi. Kosko is on track to receive his certificate at the end of June.

“We had all the pieces on campus to put together a nice residency program,” said Dr. Dolph Woodall, professor and director of physical therapy residencies. “We felt like there was a good opportunity here. Sports was the first one because we had not only the hospital, but also the colleges and athletic programs around the state.”

As for the other residency, a current physical therapy student has been accepted into the program and will begin in July. He will spend most of his time at the University Rehabilitation Center caring for patients with neurological problems, such as traumatic brain injury and stroke.

“The (neurology) resident will have different learning experiences each quarter,” said Patty Stegall, therapy manager at URC. “The first quarter will have an emphasis on stroke. Then traumatic brain injury, and so on.” The resident also will take part in Neuro Grand Rounds in the hospital.

Stegall is in the process of coordinating the resident’s learning experiences with SHRP faculty members Lisa Barnes and Kim Curbow Wilcox.

Wilcox says interaction with other parts of UMMC is an important part of the effort. “I think one of the biggest benefits is the opportunity to have a great deal of collaboration between the clinical side of UMMC and the educational side,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to expand ours relationships.”

Wilcox and URC staff member Gina McRae are the only two physical therapists in the state who are certified neurology specialists.

Once the residencies are accredited, the Medical Center will join a small group of schools across the country to offer these programs. Nationwide, there are only five other neurology residencies in physical therapy and about a dozen sports residencies, according to the American Physical Therapy Association. The Medical Center is the only place in the state to earn a degree in physical therapy.

The sports residency is in the process of earning accreditation, Woodall said. “For the accreditation process, your first resident has to be close to completion before they’ll look at your application. So we’ve sent ours in, and we’re in the process of scheduling a site visit.”

An onsite visit by reviewers with the APTA accrediting agency is required before a program can be accredited. As it happens, Woodall serves as a site visitor who visits residencies around the nation to inspect programs for accreditation status.

“After seeing what other (medical centers) had, I knew that we could offer that and more,” he said.

-Matt Westerfield

2009-05-26 00:00:00 18923