Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency – Houston Methodist The Woodlands

Program Overview

The Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency is a 12-month program that begins each year in January. The program consists of an intensive combination of didactic lecture and lab sessions each week and five module exams to test the retention of knowledge. Residents will receive the highest quality of one-on-one mentoring from a faculty that consists of six Board-Certified Neurologic Specialists. Residents will get ample experience and understanding of neurological rehabilitation in the acute, inpatient, and outpatient settings. Throughout the program, residents will carry a near-full patient case load to facilitate independence of practice and development of advanced skills acquired from the curriculum. The program curriculum is designed to challenge and advance the residents neurologic skills in:

• Examination
• Evaluation
• Diagnosis
• Prognosis
• Intervention
• Return to Activity
• Health & Wellness

This program’s intensity and curriculum is designed to best equip the resident with the necessary qualifications and knowledge to sit for the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) Neurologic Certified Specialist Examination.

Mission

Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital's Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency's mission is to provide an unparalleled opportunity for quality advancement in neurologic clinical training by facilitating professional and clinical growth within a culture of Houston Methodist's I CARE values of integrity, compassion, accountability, respect, and excellence to enhance patient care.

Goals

• Develop an effective learning environment for advanced professional clinical practice in the managing of neurologic conditions.
• Create an environment of evidence-based practice with focus on patient values, clinical reasoning, and best evidence to treat neurological conditions.
• Teach residents to confidently and professionally interact with multiple disciplines in order to appropriately manage patient conditions.
• Support the mission and values of Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital.
• Develop curriculum which prepares the resident to successfully complete the ABPTS Neurologic Certified Specialist Examination.
• Develop community leaders in neurologic rehabilitation through professional and community engagement.
• Maintain consistency in seeking continuous improvement in the program's quality, delivery, and advanced information to adequately prepare resident to sit for the neurologic certified specialist exam.
• Maintain a financially stable status for the program so that it may thrive, advance, and grow with increase in faculty and participating residents.
• Ensure continued program sustainability by maintaining financial resources, develop and grow the faculty, and a continuously update the curriculum so that reflects the most current evidence-based practice concepts.

About Our Program

Clinical Practicum

The Houston Methodist The Woodlands Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency offers residents full-time direct clinical patient care that allows the resident to integrate and apply the knowledge from all lectures and lab sessions. This provides the resident the opportunity to expand upon their abilities as an neurologic specialist in training. Over the course of the program, residents will provide clinical care and receive site-specific mentoring across the spectrum of neurologic care which entails acute care rehab, inpatient rehab, and outpatient rehab settings in order to develop advanced understanding and expertise in all stages of neurological patients’ path to recovery.

Clinical Mentoring

The program thrives on the value of one-on-one mentoring. For the duration of the program, the resident will receive one-on-one mentoring on how to advance their skill of evaluation, examination, functional diagnosis, and treatment of neurologic conditions. The resident will receive mentoring from Board-Certified Neurologic Specialists whom also have varying specializations amongst a wide array of neurologic diagnoses.

Research & Investigation

The resident will be directed on the current evidence as it relates to the evaluation and treatment of neurologic conditions. The resident will be required to analyze the quality of research articles to facilitate their growth in evidence-based practice. Additionally, residents will be required to conduct 3 separate journal article reviews (one in each clinical setting: acute care, inpatient rehab, and outpatient rehab) and present 3 separate case studies on their own patients with supporting evidence of diagnosis and intervention. Residents will also be required to perform one capstone project with the intention of presenting this project at APTA’s CSM (Combined Sections Meeting).

Specialty Observation

Throughout the duration of the program, residents will have the opportunity to interact with neurologists, neuropsychologists, and other clinical specialists in the clinical setting and observe various operative procedures. This allows the resident to gain exposure to a variety of conditions and procedures that may implicate their practice as a physical therapist. Additionally, this allows the resident an opportunity to develop professional working relationships with the physicians and other providers of Houston Methodist The Woodlands Department of Neurology. There will also be other ancillary opportunities to engage in Houston Methodist’s wheelchair clinic, ALS clinic, HEAL center, and more.

Didactic Lectures & Lab

For the duration of the program, the resident is required to attend and participate in didactic lectures and lab. Lectures are led by faculty of the program that discuss advanced anatomy, movement science and motor learning, examination, outcome measures, differential diagnosis, clinical intervention, and return to activity as it relates to specific neurologic conditions. Lab sessions incorporate the didactic knowledge into non-patient mentoring of guided practical application of ideas and skills as it relates to functional presentations and neurologic conditions.

Core Modules

Outcomes

Graduation rate: N/A

NCS Exam first time pass rate: N/A

Eligibility

For applicants to be considered for admission to the Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency, all applicants must fulfill the following minimum requirements:

• Must be a graduate of entry-level accredited physical therapy (PT) program from the Commission on Accreditation on Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE)
• Hold a current Physical Therapy license to practice in the state Texas
• Hold an official certification in Basic Life Support (BLS)

Application Process

• Go to the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education ABPTRFE Directory of Programs for more information about applying

All applicants will be interviewed onsite by the Admission Committee prior to a final decision on admission. The application and interview for the HMTW Neurologic Residency Program is also an application and interview for employment to Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital. The applicants who interview for the program will also undergo a formal interview with the administrative staff for the Rehabilitation Department of the hospital. Selection and admission of residents is done through consideration of all components of the resident’s application package.

Employment Benefits

As full-time employees of Houston Methodist Hospital, residents will receive a very competitive residency salary as well as eligibility for the following benefits:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Flexible spending account
• Short/long-term disability
• Paid time off and holidays