Sports Physical Therapy Residency Program

The Sports Physical Therapy residency program is a cooperative effort between the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the School of Health Related Professions, University Hospitals and Clinics and the University of Mississippi (Oxford Campus).  This program is 12 months in duration, beginning mid-July and ending in mid-July the following year. 

It is accredited by the American Physical Therapy Association.  The program prepares the resident to take the Sports Specialty Examination offered by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties.

The resident is a full-time employee of UMMC and receives a competitive salary and a full benefits package.  There are no tuition costs required of the resident.  The sports resident’s experiences will include:

• Clinical practice in a large, fast-paced physical therapy outpatient orthopedic clinic;
• Experience in a college training room, performing both rehabilitation services and on-the-field and training room coverage;
• Coverage of high school athletics, both in the training room and on the field;
• One month of clinical experience in a college (Division 1) training room, including rehabilitation services, on-the-field coverage and experience with administrative responsibilities;
• Collaborative practice in injury clinics with physicians, athletic trainers, physical therapists and all other members of the sports medicine team;
• Opportunities for numerous learning experiences, including Orthopedic Conference, Sports Medicine Conference, Journal Club and didactic classroom experiences;
• Collaborative educational experiences with other residents and fellows on the Medical Center campus, including orthopedic surgery residents, family medicine residents and family medicine sports medicine fellows;
• Laboratory teaching assistance responsibilities in a physical therapist educational program focusing on the areas of gross anatomy, kinesiology and peripheral joint orthopedics;
• physician interaction in clinical, on-the-field and surgical situations.

Requirements

Sports Physical Therapy residencies require the following specific experiences during the residency:

• A minimum of 1,500 hours of clinical practice.  This patient population must be at least 40% sports physical therapy patients.  Included in these 1,500 hours must be at least:
• 200 hours of athletic venue coverage
• 150 hours of mentored practice
• A minimum of 75 hours of clinical instructor interaction, including didactic teaching, case studies, clinical rounds or other planned educational experiences.

The following is a sample weekly schedule for the sports resident at the University of Mississippi Medical Center:

The sports residents are required to satisfactorily complete the following evaluations during their residency period:

• 4 technique examinations;
• 4 patient examinations - one each for knee, ankle, upper extremity and spine;
• 2 patient examinations on the field - one in a contact sport and one in a non-contact sport;
• 1 patient examination for a pre-participation screening;
• 1 patient examination for a wellness evaluation;
• 4 patient examinations for functional testing for return to sport - one each for knee, ankle, upper extremity and spine;
• 1 written final examination.

Applications

Applications for the residency are accepted from Nov. 1 through Feb. 28 prior to the residency beginning on July 1. Application materials should be submitted to:

• Dolph Woodall, PT, EdD, SCS, ATC, Residency Program Director
  • School of Health Related Professions
  • University of Mississippi Medical Center
  • 2500 North State St.
  • Jackson, MS 39216
  • E-mail: dwoodall@umc.edu

Application materials should include the following:

• Letter of interest that includes the applicant’s goals for residency
• Current curriculum vitae
• Two letters of reference (those can be sent by the reference directly to our program or the letters can be included by applicants with their application materials)
• Completed application form (form can be requested from program director)

The accepted applicant must be licensed in the state of Mississippi prior to beginning the residency. The applicant must also have at least one of the following credentials:

• ATC
• EMT
• Emergency Responder certified by the American Red Cross

UMMC offers equal opportunity in education and employment, M/F/D/V