Residency Programs

Experiential learning consists of diverse observational and interactive learning experiences throughout the St. Luke’s University Health Network. You will be observing and interacting with many different types of physicians and residents from family practice, occupational medicine, pain management, geriatric medicine, radiology, and orthopedic surgery. You also get the opportunity to observe other orthopedic physical therapists and orthopedic pediatric physical therapists. It is important to be able to feel comfortable speaking with other professions and physicians as well as be an advocate for the physical therapy profession. Other events that fall on experiential learning days include journal club, research, psychomotor development, and grand rounds.

Mentor time is scheduled weekly and is reserved on the schedule. Your mentor will work with you as you treat patients to ensure proper clinical reasoning, skill acquisition, constructive feedback, and psychomotor development. We give you four different mentors throughout the year, so you are able to have four different experiences with clinicians of various backgrounds to aid in your development.

The resident will be expected to treat 80% of the patients that a full-time employee sees as you have limited clinical hours. The patients are scheduled on half hour blocks to maintain a high quality of care.

Participating in any residency will be some kind of financial sacrifice, although our graduates report the long-term benefit exceeds the short-term salary reduction. Additionally, we offer are opportunities full residency tuition coverage opportunities as well. There are also options through most federal loan providers which make the residency year more manageable. One option is deferment in which you would not be expected to pay on your loans while in residency, but your interest would still accumulate. Other options include income driven repayment plans. For more information contact your student loan provider.

The educational aspect of the residency is the ability to become a certified clinical instructor and teach a student. The resident must be comfortable and confident enough in their skills to undertake and instruct a student. This residency is in house which means the schedule of the week is scheduled around the resident and takes place within the St. Luke’s University Health Network for one full calendar year. There is minimal remote or online learning, and the class, mentor-time, and experiential learning are live. The ability to observe with multiple health professions and learn about hospital operations throughout the spectrum through experiential learning is what sets this residency apart from others. No cost associated with this residency.

• Exclusively in-house residency structure
• Opportunity to work with 4 different mentors throughout the course of the year to give varying perspectives on clinical practice
• Designated mentor hours weekly with 1:1 instruction and real time feedback
• Numerous outside clinic experiences with healthcare professionals, including physicians of multiple specialties (orthopedic surgeons, family medicine, pain management, occupational medicine) to develop professional relationships and communication skills
• Large number of board-certified orthopedic physical therapists contributing to the coursework and mentoring sessions
• Clinical instructor credentialing provided with subsequent physical therapy student during residency year
• Weekly classes on specific body regions to review up to date concepts and practice hands on skills in lab

The research requirement is an individual evidence-based research project of your choice, or continuation of previous research project with faculty member or members. The research must be completed enough for submission to a conference or journal by the end of the residency year.

The Lehigh Valley is a large metropolitan area where St. Luke’s University Health Network is located. The major three cities are Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and Phillipsburg. There are many options available. The area is in a good central location with New York City and Philadelphia both within 2 hours, and the Atlantic shore is not much further.

Experiential learning consists of diverse observational and interactive learning experiences throughout the St. Luke’s University Health Network and the community. You will be observing and interacting with many different types of physicians and health professionals including orthotics and prosthetics, radiology, seating clinic, athletic screenings, gait lab, and orthopedic surgery. You also get the opportunity to observe other pediatric physical therapists. It is important to be able to feel comfortable speaking with other professions and physicians as well as be an advocate for the physical therapy profession. Other events that fall on experiential learning days include early intervention, inpatient, and school-based observations as well as journal club, research, psychomotor development, and grand rounds.

Mentor time is scheduled weekly and is reserved on the schedule. You will receive 200 hours of mentoring Throughout the year. Your mentor will work with you as you treat patients to ensure proper clinical reasoning, skill acquisition, constructive feedback, and psychomotor development. You will be scheduled with two different mentors, one each semester. Your mentor has multiple years of pediatric clinical experience to aid in your development.

The resident will be expected to treat 80% of the patients that a full-time employee sees with time scheduled for experiential learning and lectures. The patients are scheduled one on one in 45-minute blocks to maintain a high quality of care.

Participating in any residency will be some kind of financial sacrifice, although our graduates report the long-term benefit exceeds the short-term salary reduction. Additionally, we offer an opportunity for full residency tuition coverage. There are also options through most federal loan providers which make the residency year more manageable. One option is deferment of student loans. You would not be expected to pay on your current student loans while in residency, but your interest would still accumulate. Other options include income driven repayment plans. For more information contact your student loan provider.

This residency focuses on provision of outpatient pediatric services. The residency is in house which means the weekly schedule centers around the resident and takes place within the St. Luke’s University Health Network for one full calendar year. We collaborate with the Academy of Pediatric Residency Consortium which offers synchronous and asynchronous lectures and learning experiences with pediatric residents nationally. Our core pediatric faculty are all board certified ABPTS Pediatric Clinical Specialists. The resident will attend lectures and learning activities with pediatric faculty on a variety of topics not covered by the Academy of Pediatric Residency Consortium. Classes, mentor-time, and experiential learning are live activities. The ability to observe with multiple health professions and learn about hospital operations throughout the spectrum through experiential learning is what sets this residency apart from others. The educational aspect of the residency is the ability to take part in the pediatric education of Doctor of Physical Therapy students at DeSales University. The resident will improve their skills and confidence to assist with student instruction with guidance of university faculty.

• In-house residency structure with opportunities to observe and participate in early intervention, school-based, and inpatient services at SLUHN and in the community
• Opportunity to work with 2 different mentors throughout the course of the year to give varying perspectives on clinical practice
• Collaboration with experienced pediatric physical, occupational and speech therapists across the network
• Designated mentor hours weekly with 1:1 instruction and real time feedback
• Numerous outside clinic experiences with healthcare professionals, including physicians of multiple specialties to develop professional relationships and communication skills
• Large number of board-certified pediatric physical therapists contributing to the coursework and mentoring sessions
• Providing education to Doctor of Physical Therapy students

The research requirement is an individual evidence-based research project of your choice, or continuation of previous research project with faculty member or members. The research must be completed enough for submission to a conference or journal by the end of the residency year.

The Lehigh Valley is a large suburban area where St. Luke’s University Health Network is located. The major three cities are Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. There are many options available within the Lehigh Valley. There are opportunities for entertainment, sports, outdoor activities, and the arts. New York City, Philadelphia, and the Atlantic shore are all within 2 hours away.