Advance your practice. And your career.

The MGH Institute's Clinical Residency in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy is designed for physical therapists wishing to advance their clinical skills in orthopaedics. This year-long residency combines clinical mentoring, academic courses, and opportunities for teaching, research, and community service. Upon completion, residents are prepared for the APTA Orthopedic Clinical Specialist Certification Examination.

Physical therapist working on a patients knee

Semester Starts: Fall
Application Deadline: December
Time to Complete: 12 months
Format: Hybrid
ABPTFRE accredited program

Residency Components

During the year of the residency program, the resident will be an employee at one of our clinical partners (.75 FTE), with non-degree student status at MGH Institute of Health Professions. Over the course of one year, the resident/employee will complete:

  • At least 1500 hours, or approximately 30 hours per week, of orthopedic physical therapy clinical practice in one of our clinical partner facilities that includes at least 150 hours of one-to-one mentoring with an advanced clinician mentor on staff at the clinical partner facility;
  • 300 hours of didactic education through completion of the Elevating Practice Course and attendance at designated seminars.
  • 200 hours of Resident Directed Learning, including but not limited to:
    • Paid lab instructing in DPT courses;
    • Mentored research;
    • APTA Orthopaedic Section Independent Study courses;
    • Community Outreach.
  1. The residency program prepares residents who provide high quality patient care for those with orthopaedic conditions, consistent with being a clinical specialist.
  2. The residency program trains residents to engage in evidence-based practice.
  3. The residency program guides residents to become clinical mentors, teachers, and consultants for other physical therapists and members of the health care community.
  4. The residency program produces residents that adapt to emerging roles as physical therapists in the new healthcare system.
  5. The residency program will assess the didactic curriculum annually and make changes to improve areas for development.
  6. The residency program will maintain financial stability to honor commitments to residents and clinical partners.

Upon completion of the residency program:

  1. Residents will demonstrate complex clinical reasoning processes consistent with being an orthopaedic clinical specialist.
  2. Residents will demonstrate a commitment to sharing knowledge and advancing the practice of others by serving as mentors, clinical instructors, and associated faculty in the DPT and residency programs.
  3. Residents are prepared to sit for and pass the specialist certification examination in orthopaedic physical therapy, administered by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS).
    1. Residency graduates attain an average 90% first-time pass rate on the OCS examination.
  4. Residents are introduced to and value having a scholarly agenda in order to contribute to knowledge to advance the physical therapy profession.

An Expert to Mentor You

During the residency year, you will have a paid clinical appointment with one of our clinical partners: Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Rehabilitation Services Foxborough or Spaulding Outpatient Center Framingham.

As part of the clinical appointment, over the course of the residency year, a minimum of 150 hours is devoted to one-on-one mentoring with an orthopaedic clinical specialist (OCS).

Focus on Teaching, Research, and Community Service

We're committed to educating well-rounded residents with the skills to improve the lives of their patients, mentor students, interact successfully with other members of the healthcare community, and contribute to the physical therapy body of knowledge through research.

By serving as laboratory instructors under the mentorship of our physical therapy faculty, you'll have the unique opportunity to teach students in our highly-ranked Doctor of Physical Therapy program while enhancing your understanding of orthopaedic physical therapy.

You will also participate in research through the MGH Institute or one of our clinical partners in the Mass General Brigham system.

Finally, there are opportunities for you to be involved in health promotion initiatives (including health and wellness programs) such as the adaptive sports programs at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

Application & Clinical Partner Matching Process

Applicants to the residency program must:

  1. Be graduates of (or expect to graduate by program initiation) a CAPTE-accredited physical therapy program.
  2. Have (or have by program initiation) a valid Massachusetts PT license.
  3. Hold current CPR certification.
  4. Have completed a minimum of 10 weeks of clinical experience in an orthopedic setting either as a student or as a licensed PT.

The Clinical Residency in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy program participates in the Residency/Fellowship Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (RF-PTCAS). The application process begins in October.

Apply

Completed applications must be submitted by the first Monday in December for the following year (Fall) start. 

Candidates who are preliminarily accepted by the PT Department will interview with one or more of our Residency clinical partners.

Interviewed candidates who are determined to meet employment criteria at one or more partner facilities and are approved by the facility as qualified residents/employees will be matched to a clinical partner through a collaborative process with the facility and the Program Coordinator.

As employees of an MGB facility, each resident must meet the conditions for both initial and ongoing employment for that facility. Potential residents will be informed of all employment standards of the facility prior to accepting the residency position.

For more information on the Residency Program, contact our Program Director Benjamin Adams, PT, DPT, PhD, OCS, CSCS.

Cost & Compensation

Costs

$8,000 which includes:

  • Tuition: $7,600, due during the residency year.
  • APTA Home Study Courses: $400 (Orthopaedic Section member price), due at the start of the program.

Fact Sheet

Compensation

The Residency wage & benefit packet is equivalent to a 75% employee. DPT lab instructing time is also compensated.

100%

program completion rate

100%

1st time pass rate on OCS exam

100%

of residents are lab instructors during or after program

Accomplished Faculty

In the Clinical Residency program, you'll learn from expert clinical and academic faculty who apply the latest evidence in the practice and teaching of orthopaedic physical therapy.

ben has a close cropped beard and mustache and wears a blue checkered shirt with a navy tie

Director, Clinical Residency in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Assistant Professor, Physical Therapy

Professional portrait of an MGH IHP Doctor of Physical Therapy faculty member with a clinical setting in the background

Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor Chair, Physical Therapy Dept.