List of pediatric physical therapy residency programs

The resident’s primary work area throughout the year-long residency is in outpatient pediatrics. The resident receives expert mentoring from a team of clinical mentors working alongside them throughout the entire year. During set rotations, the resident is immersed into acute and inpatient rehabilitation care areas for direct clinical mentoring with highly experienced mentors. Diversity in patients of different ages and diagnoses is the focus of the residency program.

Some common types of diagnoses that the resident can expect to see in the different service areas of the hospital may include:

Outpatient: Physical therapists practicing in the outpatient are serve the hospital and entire community in the treatment of children, teens and young adults presenting with a variety of conditions including: orthopedic (surgical and non-surgical), oncology (brain tumors and ALL), developmental delay, torticollis, sports injuries, hemophilia, cardio-respiratory disorders, and toe walking.

Inpatient Rehabilitation: Physical therapists practicing in the inpatient rehabilitation unit specialize in facilitating independence while the child is recovering from serious trauma or illness. Children and teens with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, neurological conditions, pain disorders and rheumatologic diseases are often treated. Exposure to discharge planning including home visits and equipment ordering is part of the resident’s mentored time in inpatient rehabilitation.

Acute: Physical therapists in acute care specialize in treating medically fragile children staying in the hospital. The resident treats children, teens and young adults with a variety of diagnoses including cancer, orthopedic post- surgical, med-surgical, and neurological conditions with mentoring during the acute care rotation. Exposure to infants in the Neonatal Intensive Critical Care Unit (NICCU) and patients in the Cardio-thoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU) is part of the residency.

Where Do Residents Go When They Graduate?

Residents from our program who have graduated in the last 5 years have obtained positions at the following institutions:

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Baton Rouge, LA
Phoenix Children’s Hospital
Rusk Rehab at NYU Langone Medical Center

Resident Publications

As part of our program, each resident prepares a publishable systematic review of the literature on a topic decided upon between resident and faculty. Some examples of past resident publications can be viewed below.

Hardee, J. and Fetters, L. (2016) The Effect of Exercise Intervention on Daily Life Activities and Social Participation in Individuals with Down syndrome: A Systematic Review. Research in Developmental Disabilities. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422217300112

Mendonça, B., Sargent, B. Fetters, L. (2016) The Cross-Cultural Validity of Standardized Motor Development Screening and Assessment Tools: A Systematic Review. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 58(12):1213-12.22 \ doi: 10.1111/dmcn.13263.

Wong, J. & Fetters, L. (2014) Effects of Exercise Intervention for Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Systematic Review. Rehabilitation Oncology, 32:40-51.

Pediatric Physical Therapy Residency Program

The Cincinnati Children’s Pediatric PT Residency is designed to develop pediatric specialists in the field of physical therapy through a multi-faceted program focused on developing advanced clinical skills and expanding pediatric knowledge. Our goal is to develop pediatric physical therapists who are able to provide the highest level of patient and family-centered in a variety of clinical settings.

The mission of the residency is to empower graduates to provide excellent, culturally competent, evidence-based clinical care across the continuum of pediatric PT, and to encourage them to accept leadership roles as a resource to other pediatric therapists. The residency is designed to develop PT specialists who are effective in improving function in a diverse population of children and their families. The program combines didactic and clinical work to encourage the development of advanced clinical reasoning.

Key Components of the Pediatric PT Residency Program include:

• Participation in the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) program, a multi-disciplinary program to improve the health and function of children with or at risk of developing a neurodevelopmental disability
• Provision of physical therapy services in a number of unique settings:
  
  • Outpatient clinic setting with a variety of developmental diagnoses
  • School-based setting
  • Inpatient setting including acute care, NICU and inpatient rehabilitation
• Observations in multiple specialty clinics in the medical center and in Ohio Early Intervention
• At least 150 hours of one-on-one mentorship
• Mentoring from clinical experts in multiple settings
• Multiple presentation and teaching opportunities
• Research and/or outreach integration project
• Unique opportunities for involvement in community programs, continuing education and specialty clinic observations

Welcome

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