Fellowship in Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy

• Fellowship in OMPT – Program completion rate (202/249 – 81%) as of Jan 2024 (since 2005)
• Fellowship in OMPT – Program student retention rate (249/269 – 84%) as of Jan 2024 (since 2005)

"Fellow" status in the AAOMPT is both a membership classification and a professional credential. As a professional credential, a "Fellow" in AAOMPT is an international recognition of competence and expertise in the practice of orthopaedic manual physical therapy by a physical therapist licensed in the USA. To achieve the Fellow credential, a physical therapist must complete a credentialed fellowship program in orthopaedic manual physical therapy or demonstrate the equivalent level of competence by successfully passing a portfolio review process for fellowship renewal. The "Fellow" is a physical therapist who has demonstrated advanced clinical, analytical, and hands-on skills in the treatment of musculoskeletal (orthopaedic) disorders. Fellows serve their patients and the public by demonstrating excellence in clinical practice, education, and research.

For more information on the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists visit their website at www.aaompt.org.

We teach both high velocity low amplitude (HLVA) thrust manipulation and trigger point dry needling as a part of all of our management courses. These techniques are in addition to joint mobilization, neurodynamic mobilization, muscle energy, and other soft tissues techniques taught within the program. We have always had a large emphasis on HVLA techniques and more recently have updated the curriculum to include dry needing to reflect the most recent developments in this emerging area of manual physical therapy interventions. From an advocacy perspective, the Regis Fellowship is very active in supporting the right (and obligation) of Physical Therapists to include all available tools within the knowledge and training to support the health of society.

Over the course of the four management courses you will receive 27 hours of training in trigger point dry needling. This may or may not meet the requirements of your individual state for utilizing this intervention as a part of your physical therapy practice. Please consult your state practice act for requirements as these vary significantly. All fellows in training will need to comply with their state practice act prior to utilizing this technique in their clinical practice

Clinicians considering our program that work for other colleges, members of the military or hospitals that offer tuition assistance benefits often have requirements for tuition reimbursement that mandate credit be from a regionally-accredited school. For this reason, courses are graded with a letter grade and grades are posted to an official Regis University transcript. The only exception to the letter grade is for the final practicum course, which is not given a letter grade but a pass/fail. In the past we have provided a letter to employers who require a grade stating what grade they earned in the practicum class in order to pass.

Regis University is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission with over 140 years of history to draw from as we continually pursue excellence in education. The Regis Division of Physical Therapy is nationally recognized, and our faculty are both expert clinicians and passionate teachers with expertise in many areas of PT, including OMPT. Since our campus is located in beautiful Denver, Colorado fellowship students not only get hands-on training at our historic campus, but get to explore a city recognized time and again for its healthy lifestyle and great amenities, and may choose to make a longer vacation out of their weekend visits.

Whether University level courses count as CEU is dependent on your state licensing board. The courses are on an official university transcript, with a grade assigned, and Regis is a HLC accredited university. Those are the important points to discuss or know when looking into this issue. We are able to provide a CEU certificate for the weekend intensive, this has been done before, but historically it has been the University credit which is most important. In Colorado, continuing education courses are not required to be credentialed to be provided but are required to meet standards as set forth by the APTA to meet educational standards (to be counted as level I in Colorado). It is up to the attendee to determine the level of the education offered and report to their respective state board or association for CEU or continuing competency credit as required.

A significant majority of our fellows in training are full-time clinicians with many of them serving in additional roles such as clinic supervisors, directors, or owners. One advantage of our fellowship program is that it can be completed by the full-time clinician without the need to cut back on hours or relocate. All of our courses utilize a hybrid online learning environment which means that you can work on your course work anytime of the day, and any day of the week. There are four weekend intensives (Fri - Sun) that are associated with each of the four management courses that require attendance on campus at Regis University. One additional trip to campus is required for the final practicum examination. Overall students should expect to make five visits to our campus in Denver, Colorado. The amount of time required per week depends on which courses you are enrolled in at the time. When you are enrolled within a management course the amount of time required is typically four to six hours per week. When you are enrolled in our virtual rounds the time is less (approximately two to three hours per week). However, time varies depending upon your learning style.

Additional travel includes attendance at one national conference (AAOMPT Annual Meeting or CSM are most common) if your research project is selected for presentation, and possible travel related to the 150 hours of one-on-one clinical practice under the direct supervision of a Fellow.

Students in this Fellowship complete a minimum of 850 hours of clinical practice focused on orthopaedic physical therapy during the program. This includes a minimum of 700 hours indirect mentoring (virtual rounds), and 150 hours of direct one-on-one clinical practice mentoring working with two or more Fellows.

Our Fellows in Training (FiT's) complete 150 hours of one-on-one clinical mentor time with an AAOMPT fellow, of which 20 hours occurs during the weekend lab sessions on campus. FiT's find and work with FAAOMPT mentors typically utilizing clinicians they know, our network of alumni, or clinicians they seek out based on location or expertise. Regis is able to provide a list to admitted students of the majority of our 100 plus graduates to date, based upon location, to facilitate this process. These hours typically start after the first management course is completed and continue throughout time in the program.

One-on-one clinical practice hours must be under direct clinical supervision of a Fellowship Mentor. Mentors must be in good standing with the AAOMPT, be licensed and located in the USA, and we must establish a clinic agreement with them. Clinical supervision is defined as on-site, one-on-one instructor supervision of the Fellow in training while actively engaged in patient/client management. The Fellow in training must serve as the primary clinician responsible for the patient’s care for a minimum of 130 of the 150 hours. The remaining 20 hours may be devoted to observation or the instructor providing care to the instructor’s patient(s) and/or discussion with the instructor on patient/client management.

It is the responsibility of the Fellows in training to arrange state licensure, travel, accommodations, etc., when engaged in practice at these facilities.

While some programs have fees associated with the Fellowship 1:1 mentor time, at this point Regis students have not been charged for their direct clinical time, though this is a decision of the potential mentor and not of Regis University, but supported by our program intent. We have a strong base of Fellowship mentors to support our students. However, if reimbursement were requested by a Fellow mentor, any reimbursement to the teaching Fellow is between the Fellow in Training and the Fellow mentor, and does not include Regis.

While some programs have fees associated with the Fellowship 1:1 mentor time, at this point Regis students have not been charged for their direct clinical time, though this is a decision of the potential mentor and not of Regis University, but supported by our program intent. We have a strong base of Fellowship mentors to support our students. However, if reimbursement were requested by a Fellow mentor, any reimbursement to the teaching Fellow is between the Fellow in Training and the Fellow mentor, and does not include Regis.

We encourage students to customize their experience to meet their interest and patient population needs, therefore having multiple mentors is allowed. We recommend that one of your mentors be a Regis Fellowship in OMPT graduate to solidify the techniques and training of the Regis OMPT program, but any Fellow in good standing with AAOMPT is eligible to be a mentor pending a site contract, a relatively easy process but dependent on the size and requirements of the mentors' place of employment.

No. However, we do offer an innovated program for PT’s interested in mentoring our entry level DPT students. We highly encourage fellows to consider becoming part of our Clinical Education Scholar Program (CESP). Mentor two or more entry level DPT students per year and earn tuition credit for one post professional course (3 semester hours). Find out more by contacting Nancy Mulligan or calling 303-458-4022. Additional details and an application to the CESP program is available on our Clinical Education page.

No. The Fellowship is a post-professional option for US licensed physical therapists. Students who are not doctorally prepared may need to consult with the program coordinator to determine their readiness for the program, however, generally speaking a strong professional record, OCS certification, years of experience, and PT licensure in good standing are all indications of preparedness for our program.