Trainee experience

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

Curriculum modules

Didactic and laboratory education is integrated throughout the curriculum and modeled after the sports physical therapy description of specialty practice in the following modules.

Foundations Module

• Clinical Reasoning
• Communications and Quality Service
• Practice Management and Professionalism
• Evidence Based Practice & Research
• Biopsychosocial and Chronic Pain Management

Spine Module

• Lumbar Spine
• Pelvis, Sacroiliac, and Abdomen
• Thoracic Spine and Ribs
• Cervical Spine

Upper Quarter Module

• Shoulder
• Elbow
• Wrist and Hand

Lower Quarter Module

• Hip
• Knee
• Foot and Ankle

Additional Content Module

• Basic Sciences
• Pharmacology
• Diagnostic Imaging

Sports-specific Content

• Pre-Participation Evaluation (PPE) and Medical Conditions
• Protective Equipment in Sports
• Environmental Considerations for the Athlete
• Concussion Assessment and Management for the Athlete
• Dermatology Considerations for the Athlete
• Sports Nutrition
• Considerations for the Female Athlete
• The Running Athlete
• The Golfing Athlete
• The Hockey Athlete
• The Cycling Athlete
• The Swimming Athlete

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

Requirements for residency completion include presenting at outpatient study groups and educational grand rounds, completion of a department Evidence Informed Practice Document, 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.

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.

Department and faculty

The Physical Therapy Sports Residency at Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences is coordinated and taught by the clinical and academic staff of Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota. Faculty members are chosen for their commitment to teaching, clinical practice and research. Many are board-certified specialists in orthopedics and sports.

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.

As a resident in Rochester, you spend the majority of your time at Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine in the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center in Rochester, Minnesota.

As a resident in Minneapolis, you will spend the majority of your time at Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine at Mayo Clinic Square in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.

• Video: Mayo Clinic Occupational Therapy Fellowship and Physical Therapy Residency Tour

Evaluation

Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences uses these evaluative tools:

• Written quizzes
• Demonstration of skills
• Self-assessment exercises
• Mentor and faculty feedback forms
• Three 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.