PHYSICAL THERAPY RESIDENCY PROGRAM NEUROLOGIC PHYSICAL THERAPY

The residency program is 54 weeks in duration.

The resident is a full-time employee of Harris Health System and is paid 72% of an entry level staff therapist. Residents also are entitled to a full spectrum of exemplary benefits, including:

• Comprehensive Medical Plan/HMO and Major Medical
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Plan
• Pre-Tax Flex Accounts
• Basic Life Insurance
• Deferred Compensation Plans
• Professional Liability Insurance

• Other benefits that our residents are entitled to:
  • Paid Time off: Residents are granted over 30 days of PTO
  • Hospital Business: Residents are encouraged to participate in professional conferences and events. Hospital business allows the residents to attend these events without taking from their PTO banks.

• There is no tuition cost for the residency program.

The residency curriculum covers all requirements outlined in the Neurologic Physical Therapy Description of Specialty Practices. Our residents are exposed to practice settings throughout the entire continuum of care including rotations through the acute care/ICU, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation settings, and specialty clinics within the Harris Health System. We partner with VA Medical Center, NeuroRestorative, and other facilities within the Texas Medical Center to ensure the resident has a complete experience to the management of neurologic diagnoses. For more specific curriculum questions, please email the neurologic program director.

The majority of a resident’s work week is the same as a full-time clinician. The resident works four ten hour shifts, with an additional eight hour work day at one of the offsite clinics with which we collaborate. This allows the resident to get maximal clinic time in order to utilize their new knowledge with their patients. A resident carries their own case load and has productivity demands similar to a full-time clinician. The resident’s schedule differs from that of a typical new graduate in that they are assigned to four hours of one-on-one mentorship each week, as well as weekly didactic coursework. As with any schedule, it is subject to change. Residents frequently take part in off-campus events such as journal clubs at the local physical therapy schools, lectures, and other leadership events around the Houston area.

The mentoring experience is what makes the residency unique. Residents spend between four to six hours a week working one-on-one with a mentor. These four to six hours are included in the 48-hour work week. In each setting—acute care, inpatient, outpatient—Residents have a mentor who works full time in that setting. This gives the resident the opportunity to learn from an expert at each level of care. A mentorship session is typically structured as follows: a discussion beforehand to prepare for patient treatment, direct patient care, a debrief session afterwards to promote clinical reasoning and further challenge the resident’s thought process. Critical feedback is provided throughout this process to maximally develop the resident’s problem solving skills. Residents agree that the one-on-one mentorship sessions help their clinical skill growth more than any other portion of the residency. Structured mentorship is the primary aspect that differentiates a residency from a full-time job.

Yes! The Harris Health Neurologic Residency Program is continually trying to advance the profession of physical therapy and foster its future. The program wants each resident to have the knowledge and skills to teach future students. As a new graduate, this can be both exciting and anxiety provoking. Becoming a clinical instructor places the resident in a situation where he or she can grow as a clinician. Residents will become a certified clinical instructor and will be a clinical instructor to a PT student towards the end of the residency (all didactic material will have been covered at this point). During this time, the resident also receives mentorship on how to improve their clinical teaching skills. This is an aspect that once again sets the Harris Health Residency program apart from other programs.

Residents will evaluate and treat patients with a diverse range of neurologic dysfunction. The most common diagnoses are stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury, and amputation. We also see a wide range of progressive neurologic diagnoses, such as: multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Residents have the opportunity to see various severities of these diagnoses due to their exposure throughout the continuum of care.

At Harris Health System, we champion better health for our patients, their families, and our community, by connecting all to an integrated healthcare system that provides high-quality healthcare. We have two hospitals and over 18 outpatient community health centers in our system. Of the patients we treat over 53% are uninsured. For the Fiscal Year 2022, Harris Health System provided $796 million in charity care.

The start date is typically at the end of August or beginning of September each year. See the Harris Health System ABPTRFE website for up to date information.

Our residency program offers a variety of experiences including: collaboration with other residents, health care providers, and administrators in both public and private healthcare systems. Our residents teach multiple lectures through local physical therapy programs in the clinic and the classroom. They have the opportunity to participate in multiple collaborative learning experiences, such as: post-polio clinic, Multiple Sclerosis clinic, ALS clinic, and Neuromuscular disease clinic. They also participate in an inter-professional educational experience with 3rd and 4th year Baylor College of Medicine Students on a monthly basis.