Trainee experience

The Physical Therapy Neurologic Residency is a full-time, 54-week program. You experience more than 1,500 hours of clinical practice, including more than 150 hours of individual mentored time from highly trained and board-certified physical therapists and over 300 education hours.

Didactic and laboratory education is integrated throughout the curriculum and modeled after the neurologic physical therapy description of residency practice in the following areas:

Foundational classes

• Clinical reasoning
• Communication & quality service
• Practice management & professionalism
• Evidence based practice & research

Acquired and traumatic brain injury topics

• Acquired brain injury intensive handling, facilitation, neurodynamics (non traumatic)
• Outcome measures
• Balance and fall prevention
• Cognitive/perceptual/visual impairments
• Motor learning
• Traumatic brain injury
• Agitated patient management
• Orthotics

Spinal cord injury topics

• Spinal cord injury patient handling, facilitation
• Locomotor training principles
• Electrical stimulation
• Spasticity management
• Wheelchair fitting and prescription
• Assistive technology

Miscellaneous topics

• Pharmacology
• Diagnostic imaging and testing
• Serial casting
• Functional movement disorders
• Teaching and learning

Neurodegenerative disease/pediatrics/neurology topics

• Neurodegenerative disorders
• Vestibular disorders
• Pediatric neurology disorders
• Peripheral nerve disorders

Requirements for residency completion include presenting at journal clubs and educational rounds, as well as completing a final research project chosen from one of these options:

• A critically-appraised topic, completed in accordance with the instructions for authors in the Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, or a systematic review and/or meta-analysis of a clinical topic.
• Participation in a defined role in ongoing departmental research activities. The resident must prepare a scholarly product (manuscript or poster) reflecting their contribution to the project.
• A self-initiated study, designed and implemented by the resident. Examples of appropriate study designs include:
• A retrospective study — analyze existing clinical data or chart review following guidelines for reporting observational studies (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology [STROBE]).
• A qualitative study — collect and analyze qualitative data to better understand a clinical concept or experience.
• A clinimetric study — examine the clinimetric properties of a clinical measurement procedure used in physical therapy practice.
• A quality improvement project that is proposed, designed, and implemented by the resident to address a department need. The resident must prepare a scholarly product (manuscript or poster) reflecting their contribution to the project.

Other curriculum content and directed learning activities include assisting with teaching lectures and laboratory coursework, clinical mentoring and teaching lectures, and observing other medical specialty practices.

Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences is committed to developing and maintaining the best education programs. The curriculum and other aspects of this program are routinely assessed and changed as necessary to ensure the highest quality training.

Schedule and hours

For the majority of the residency, the learning schedule includes eight-hour days, five days a week. Independent learning and assignments may occur outside of this time frame.

Visiting professors and lecturers

A hallmark of higher education excellence is the breadth and depth of information and experience provided to you by faculty and visiting experts. Each year, many prominent professors visit Mayo Clinic to lecture in their areas of medical and scientific expertise.

As a resident at Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, you are encouraged to learn from these valuable resources by attending all relevant conferences, lectures, and seminars prepared for students, interns, residents, fellows, and consulting staff.

Facilities

Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, includes an extensive outpatient complex, Mayo Clinic Hospital — Rochester, and substantial research and education facilities. This Mayo Clinic site is among the largest, most advanced medical centers in the world.

During the program, residents spend the majority of their time at Mayo Clinic Hospital — Rochester, Saint Marys Campus.

• Video: Mayo Clinic Occupational Therapy Fellowship and Physical Therapy Residency Tour
• Take a tour of Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota

Evaluation

Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences uses these evaluative tools:

• Written quizzes
• Demonstration of skills
• Self-assessment exercises
• Mentor and faculty feedback forms
• Live patient exams

Mayo Clinic's system of evaluation provides students and faculty with a comprehensive look at individual performance. This allows faculty and administrative staff to direct students who are experiencing academic difficulty to the appropriate support resources, including tutoring programs and counseling opportunities.