PHYSICAL THERAPY RESIDENCY PROGRAM ORTHOPEDIC PHYSICAL THERAPY

The residency program is 13 months in duration.

The resident is a full-time employee of Harris Health System and is paid 78% 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.

We structure our curriculum to build upon the residents clinical reasoning skills throughout their year of growth. The residents start with a comprehensive orientation to help them get settled and ready for the year. We then start with front loading our didactic by having the residents participate in research and primary care. After that they go through their musculoskeletal content progressing from lumbar module, to lower quarter module, to cervicothoracic module and, lastly, to upper quarter module. After the completion of the bulk of the musculoskeletal content, the residents get to participate a neurologic module, in which they learn neurologic principles that help enhance care for our orthopedic patients. We also have some “floating” modules that have classes scattered throughout the year and correlate with the content being provided in other modules. These floating modules include, sports PT/exercise science, surgical lectures, grant funded care, and PT topics. All didactic content is developed in house and presented in person. Some lectures can be joined in virtually or recorded if a resident needs to call in sick.

For more specific curriculum questions, please email the orthopedic program director at sarah.worth@harrishealth.org.

The majority of a resident’s work week is the same as a full-time clinician. The resident works ten hour shifts Monday through Thursday, and a five-hour shift on Friday. This allows the resident to get maximal clinic time in order to utilize their new knowledge with their patients. A resident carries their own caseload and has productivity demands similar to a full-time clinician. The residents schedule differs from that of a typical new graduate in that they are assigned four hours of one-on-one mentorship each week, as well as 4-8 hours of weekly didactic coursework. As with any schedule, it is subject to change.

The mentoring experience is what makes our residency program unique. Residents spend approximately four hours a week working one-on- one with a mentor. Residents switch mentors every 5 to 7 weeks to learn different skills and see different practice styles. 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 Orthopedic 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. 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 through the Texas Consortium or APTA 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.

You will be exposed to all musculoskeletal regions during your time at Harris Health System. Lumbar spine, knee, and shoulder are our most commonly evaluated body regions. The residents see a large number of elective orthopedic postoperative patients when at LBJ Outpatient Clinic. The majority of the post-operative patients that come to Fournace Place are polytrauma patients due to our proximity to the level 1 trauma center at our Ben Taub Hospital. Due to the complexity of the patient population (chronic pain, multiple comorbidities), past residents say that after treating for one year at Harris Health, you can treat anyone, anywhere!

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 40% are uninsured. For the Fiscal Year 2023, Harris Health System provided $688.8 million in charity care.