SPORTS RESIDENCY

Sports Residency participants are provided with additional training, didactic teaching, and coaching in the clinic and on the field to allow them to focus on each resident’s unique requirements. The curriculum is also structured to help therapists pass the American Physical Therapy Board of Specialists Sports Physical Therapy Certification exam. Our Sports Residency is ABPTRFE Accedited.

DESCRIPTION
The mission of the Therapy Partners Group (formerly Bodycentral Physical Therapy) Sports Residency program is to provide professional development opportunities for physical therapists to receive board certification in the area of Sports Physical Therapy. This will be attained through independent study, didactic education, participation in research, and mentorship.

The program will encourage the development and enhancement of advanced manual therapy skills, the evidence-based rationale for treatments, and clinical reasoning to allow the resident to evaluate and treat athletes – both weekend warriors and professionals and everything in between.

The graduate of the program will be an ongoing resource for the Bodycentral Physical Therapy staff and the Tucson community at large.


GOALS
• Provide residents with advanced training in the area of sports rehabilitation according to the Sports Physical Therapy Description of Advanced Clinical Practice.

• Allow mentors to enhance their expertise through focused and planned instruction with the resident.

• Facilitate critical appraisal of research in the fields of Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine.

• Produce clinicians, mentors, and educators to assume leadership roles in Sports Physical Therapy.

• Foster involvement in community outreach and educational programs.

• Produce clinicians that effectively communicate in an interdisciplinary health care team.

• Provide opportunities to develop teaching and mentoring skills.


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LOCATIONS
The Sports Residency currently has approved sites in Tucson, Arizona.

Each year the sports physical therapy residency is anticipated to have additional sites. Please make sure to contact us for specific locations.

PROGRAM OUTLINE
Sports Residents are in the clinic approximately 32 hours per week. Mentoring is included in those 30 hours (about 4 hours per week). Each resident will also have didactic time built into the schedule to work on article review, MedBridge courses, research, clinic shadowing with MDs, surgery observation, or be in the training room. One morning per week and one afternoon per week are allotted for this. The weekly schedule typically changes a couple of times throughout the 15 months to allow residents to attend different things.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Residents are provided with additional training, didactic teaching, coaching in the clinic and on the field to allow them to focus on each resident’s unique requirements. The curriculum is also structured to help therapists pass the American Physical Therapy Board of Specialists Sports Physical Therapy Certification exam.

• SCS Exam Pass Rate: 92% (as of June 2023)

• Graduation Rate: 92% (as of October 2023)

Mentoring Model:
Each resident mentors a minimum of 150 hours 1:1 with a member of our Sports Residency Faculty for a 2-3 month period. Mentoring time is typically in the afternoon one day a week for 4-5 hours at a time. Primary mentors are SCS and OCS therapists, but we also have additional mentoring time with some of our faculty with NCS and WCS for a very well-rounded experience.

Sports Resident Caseload:
Our residents see a minimum of 40% sports cases. This includes a majority of middle school, high school, and adult recreational athletes. The remainder of the caseload will be general orthopedic cases. We encourage our residents to reach out to community organizations in their area of interest to build a bigger sports caseload in that area.

For more information please contact Ethan Paster at ethan paster@bodycentralpt.net or epaster@tpg.com.

Orthopedic Residency Director 
Melissa Buss, PT, DPT, WCS, CLT
Program Faculty Member
Jennifer Allen, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CHT
Program Faculty Member
Melissa Galarowicz, PT, DPT, ATC
Program Faculty Member
Mat Wise, PT, MPT, OCS, CSCS
Program Faculty Member
T. Steve Mills, PTA, CPT
Program Faculty Member
Ethan Paster, PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Residents will typically have two early mornings, starting at 7 AM and two later mornings starting at 8:30 AM. There will also be two afternoons residents see their last patient at 5 PM, and two earlier afternoons with the last patient at 2 PM and Friday with the last patient at 12 PM.

A majority of the 200 required hours come from time spent at local high schools. However, many of our brands participate in many community events throughout the year in which our residents are involved.

Some events/organizations our residents work with include: Tucson Rodeo, Lute Olson Fantasy Basketball Camp, Mexican Professional Baseball Fiesta, Ballet Tucson, Old Pueblo Rugby, Tucson Roller Derby, and shadowing with Cincinnati Reds Baseball and the University of Arizona.

FAQs
Q. What is a Payback Period?
A. This is a 15-month employment commitment following the residency program. Residents are required to work for 15 months as a staff clinician at one of our locations and a staff PT salary. There is no cost for the Payback Period unless you choose to buy yourself out of it at the end of the residency period.

Q. What are you looking for in a Sports Resident?
A. We are looking for someone that is passionate about Sports PT and clinical education. We want someone who is a “go-getter” on our team. Residents need to be driven and motivated to make their residency experience the best 15 months possible. It is also very important that our Sports Residents are a good personality fit with our Residency Faculty and our treating staff at our Ultimate Sports Asylum.

Q. When is your application deadline?
A. Sports Residency follows the universal application deadline and decision date for Sports Residencies, which is typically a 12/1 deadline and decisions are announced the first full week of March.

Q. What is the program start date?
A. August 15

Q. Can I apply if I’m taking July boards?
A. We would strongly encourage you to take boards in April if you are applying to this residency program, as your licensure may be delayed otherwise. However, you can still be considered for a position if you take boards in July.

Q. How many residents do you accept each cycle?
A. 2

Q. Do I need to be EMR/ERA certified to apply?
A. You do not need to be certified to apply, but if accepted you must have this certification or be a licensed ATC prior to starting the program per ABPTRFE requirements.



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