Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency

Breadth and Depth of Clinical Rotations

As one of the nation's leading health care systems, the TIRR Memorial Hermann Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency Program offers the residents the entire continuum of care and patient lifespan in the practice of neurologic physical therapy. This wide exposure allows the residents to enhance their clinical decision making skills and develop their confidence as expert clinicians.

Enriched Didactic Experiences

The academic courses offered by Texas Woman's University and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston include foundational and clinical sciences, as well as critical inquiry. Educational and research opportunities at both institutions contribute to a solid foundation in neurologic physical therapy practice.

Learning modules are provided by interdisciplinary instructors who are experts in the curriculum content and patient management They create enriched learning experiences for enhanced knowledge acquisition and clinical application.

Dedicated Faculty and Mentors

The faculty members and mentors of our residency program are leading educators and clinicians. They are committed to the development of practitioners with advanced clinical skills in the management of patients with neurologic dysfunction across the continuum of care.

Challenging and Rewarding Training Environment

Our residency training program strives for excellence in the areas of clinical practice, education and inquiry. In these areas, we seek to provide the residents with experiences that are challenging, yet rewarding, in order to enhance their professional growth and development.

Program Benefits to Our Profession

• A model for professional growth and development
• Develops practitioners with advanced clinical skills across the continuum of care
• Aligns with the APTA's Vision - where physical therapy services are provided by specialists in a practice area
• Increases the number of physical therapists with advanced knowledge in the area of neurologic physical therapy
• Enhances the quality and consistency of care for patients with neurologic diagnoses

Program Benefits to the Resident

• Clinical mentoring
• Acquire advanced clinical skills in the management of patients with complex neurologic dysfunction
• Provides opportunities for clinical research in collaboration with local universities
• Prepares the resident for the American Physical Therapy Specialist Examination in Neurologic Physical Therapy to become a board-certified clinical specialist
• Allows the resident to "earn while he/she learns" (30 clinical hours per week, minimum of 25)
• Resident will receive paid time off and medical/dental benefits

*TIRR Memorial Hermann Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency Program is accredited by the American Physical Therapy Association as a post-professional residency program for physical therapists in neurology.

• Download the TIRR Memorial Hermann Neurologic Residency Comparison.
• Download the TIRR Memorial Hermann Neurologic Residency Program Financial Fact Sheet

Clinical Experience and Mentorship

Residents participate in a variety of clinical and didactic experiences across the lifespan and continuum of care during this 54 week residency program.

Clinical Experience

Residents will rotate through the various settings within the Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, including:

Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center

• Neuro-Trauma Intensive Care Unit
• Acute Care Neuro Unit
• Stroke Unit

Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital

• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• Inpatient/outpatient pediatrics

TIRR Memorial Hermann

• Brain Injury and Stroke Programs
• Spinal Cord Injury and Amputee Programs
• Specialty Rehab

TIRR Memorial Hermann Adult and Pediatrics Outpatient Rehabilitation

• Outpatient Rehabilitation
• Challenge Program - a specialized community re-entry program for persons with cognitive disabilities after brain injury.

Residents will have the opportunity to enhance their clinical skills in the treatment of patients with:

• Stroke
• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord injury
• Multiple sclerosis
• Amputations
• Parkinson's disease
• Vestibular dysfunction
• Pediatric conditions

Throughout the clinical rotations, the resident will interact and collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team (ie, physicians, case managers, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, nurses, social workers, neuropsychologists).

In addition to direct patient care at the different clinical sites, the residents will be participating in various additional clinical experiences which can include:

• Spasticity Clinic
• Post-Polio Clinic
• Amputee Clinic
• Movement Disorders Clinic
• Multiple Sclerosis Clinic
• Wheelchair Clinic
• Intrathecal Baclofen Pump Assessment: pre- and post- trials
• Orthotics and Prosthetics Clinic
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Clinic

These are offered to further facilitate the resident's learning. These specialty clinics are led by experts in the field and the residents will receive 1:1 faculty mentorship.

Community service opportunities are also offered within the residency program. This allows the resident to participate in service-oriented activities to strengthen their demonstration of community responsibility.

Mentorship

While on each rotation, the resident will be provided with 1:1 mentorship in order to advance his/her clinical skills and patient management. This mentorship will be provided by clinical faculty, who are experts in the area of neurologic physical therapy.

The resident will maintain a schedule of 30 clinic hours per week with a minimum of 3-hours of 1:1 faculty mentorship per week. This will allow the resident 150 hours of mentorship at minimum by the conclusion of the residency.

Mentorship occurs during patient treatment sessions and during non-treatment time to allow for practice of new psychomotor skills and/or the discussion of theory, scientific evidence and the clinical application thereof.

Didactic Experiences

The didactic curriculum is offered through university-mediated courses and module instruction to provide the resident with a comprehensive educational experience.

University Mediated Didactic Curriculum

The university mediated didactic experiences will be offered through online and onsite formats at Texas Woman’s University and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. They are scheduled on an academic calendar, concurrent with the clinical experiences. The resident will be enrolled in two to three independent study courses per residency year. It will progress from the foundational and clinical sciences to critical inquiry and evidence based practice and culminates in the completion of a research project.

The required courses include:

• Clinically Applied Neuroscience
• Special Topics in Critical Inquiry and Evidence Based Practice
• Special Topics in Research/Guided Research - enrollment in this course is dependent on the resident’s self-selected research mentor’s employment location

Module Series Curriculum

Learning modules will provide the resident with focused learning experiences in a variety of formats- lecture, lab, and mentored discussions. The interdisciplinary module instructors serve as experts in the curriculum content and in patient management. The goal of the module series is to provide a mechanism for knowledge acquisition and clinical application.

The majority of module educational content will take place over 7 weekends between July-February. Each weekend will be 1-2 days long depending on content with resulting flexed time during the week.

Module weekend curriculum includes:

• Translating the Science to Practice: Neuroplasticity and Motor Learning in Neurological Rehabilitation
• Pathological Gait Analysis and Orthotic Intervention For Adults with Neurologic Dysfunction
• Pediatric Rehabilitation for the Neurologic Therapist
• Advancing Clinical Practice in Brain Injury and Stroke Rehabilitation
• Advanced Adult Vestibular Rehab Across the Continuum
• Advancing Clinical Practice in Neurodegenerative Disease Rehabilitation
• Advancing Clinical Practice in Spinal Cord Injury

In addition to the weekend course, the resident will participate in additional education through small didactic or mentored discussion.

Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency Program Application Information

TIRR Memorial Hermann Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency Program will be using the APTA's RF-PTCAS for the admission process. Please note the materials required by RF-PTCAS that will be submitted through the APTA RF-PTCAS website.

Supplemental materials required by the TIRR Memorial Hermann Neurologic Residency Program include:

Reference Letters

• Three professional reference letters to be included with your RF-PTCAS application
• New graduates must submit at least one letter of recommendation (submit this through RF-PTCAS) from a previous clinical instructor.

Description of Clinical Practice and Clinical Internships

Complete the following sections under RF-PTCAS Additional Information:

• PT/PTA Clinical Experiences/Internships
• Professional Employment History
• Professional Memberships
• Professional Licenses and CEUs
• Certifications, Credentials, Residencies and Fellowships
• Research, Awards, Teaching and Volunteer History

TIRR Memorial Hermann HR application

To access the application, visit Memorial Hermann's career opportunities. (The PT residency application may not be available on the website until the end of January).

1. Click on Search Jobs. This will take you to a new page.
2. Click on VIEW ALL JOBS.
3. Under Category, click on Rehabilitation Services.
4. Under Facility/Division, click on TIRR.
5. Under Results Found, click on the Physical Therapist Resident position. This will take you to the next page.
6. Create an account or sign in.

Application Fee

• Application fee: $50.00
• Payment to be made online through link that will be provided to the applicant.

Application Deadline:

RF-PTCAS application should be completed online and application fee should be received by the deadline for consideration.

Interviews will be scheduled in January/February of each year. The exact date will be communicated with the applicant.

Didactic training begins end of June. Clinical training begins the first week of July. Specific start dates will be communicated to the resident in the acceptance letter.

Minimum Eligibility Requirements

Minimum eligibility requirements for acceptance to TIRR Memorial Hermann Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency Program:

• Be eligible for or hold a valid Texas Physical Therapy license
• Eligibility requirements for new graduates:
  • You must have taken the Physical Therapy Licensure Exam on or before July test dates.
  • You must show proof of certificate of completion from the Physical Therapy Program Chair if your graduation date is past the start date of the Residency Program.
  • You must show proof of a temporary Physical Therapy license in Texas by the start date of the clinical training (This will be communicated to you). If you are from out-of-state, the requirements for temporary license is the same for in-state graduates. Please visit the Texas Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners website to review the licensing requirements.

For More Information

Laura Martin, PT, DPT
Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy
Residency Director
TIRR Memorial Hermann Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency Program
1333 Moursund St.
Houston, Texas 77030
(713) 797-7627
NeuroPT@memorialhermann.org