Residency Programs


Our residency programs focus on cultivating highly skilled and efficient healthcare professionals.

Specialized Residencies

Physical Therapy at St. Luke’s offers three specialized residencies—Neurologic, Orthopedic, and Pediatric. Our targeted training makes our graduates adept in their chosen fields who deliver more efficient and effective care, combining specialized expertise with enhanced marketability and confidence in their practice.

Our alumni consistently report increased confidence in patient treatment, translating into higher salaries in their professional endeavors.

All residencies include weekly one-on-one mentoring sessions, providing a supportive learning environment.

Specialized Residency Training



Orthopedic Residency

Why St. Luke’s? 

  • More efficient and effective care – our residency graduates are significantly more efficient and effective at resolving their patients’ problems than those without residency training
  • Weekly one-on-one mentoring
  • Offer a competitive salary and benefits package
  • Improved marketability to potential employers
  • Improved confidence in patient treatment
  • Our graduates all report higher salaries as a result of graduating from our residency

Our Mission:

To promote and enhance the profession of orthopedic physical therapy to deliver the highest quality, patient-centered care to help patients live more productive lives and be the provider of choice in the communities we serve.

Facilities:

Residents perform rotations throughout the St. Luke’s University Health Network, a regional medical health network. Outpatient, longitudinal care is provided at one of the Physical Therapy at St Luke’s clinics throughout the Lehigh Valley. Physical Therapy at St. Luke’s uses EPIC electronic health record and FOTO software for patient outcomes. Academic lectures and labs are held every Thursday morning. The impressive medical library has research and small group study rooms and access to a vast number of online and physical resources.

Program Outline:

  • 1 year starting in January or July
  • 45 Hours per week (avg) of structured time
  • 36 hours of patient care including 5 hours of 1:1 hands-on mentoring
  • 4 Hours of classroom/lab
  • 5 Hours of experiential learning, research and interprofessional collaboration

Program Goals:

  • Improve your knowledge and skills: Foster an environment that facilitates and accelerates therapists to attain the highest level of care through knowledge and use of advanced evidence-based clinical skills and to ensure successful completion of ABPTS orthopedic clinical specialist exam.
  • Improve your clinical decision making: Foster an environment to maximize clinical proficiency with clinical decision-making and psychomotor skills.
  • Become a leader: To develop leaders in the field who help bridge the gaps between practice patterns utilizing EBP and enhance interdisciplinary collaboration to improve patient outcomes and spread awareness of evidence-based orthopedic physical therapist practice.
  • Improve your profession: Enhance the field of physical therapy by providing future clinical educators and researchers.

Program Stats:

  • 100% ABPTS Board Certification in Orthopedics pass rate (1st time pass rate- 97%)
  • 98% Program completion rate
  • 100% Program retention rate
  • 39 Graduates took ABPTS Board Certification Exam in Orthopedics
  • 93% of all Graduates have chosen to stay at St. Luke’s after graduation
  • 80% of all Graduates are in leadership role

How to Apply:

All applications to the St. Luke’s University Health Network Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency Program must be made through the Residency and Fellowship Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (RF-PTCAS).

  • All applicants must have a valid license to practice PT in Pennsylvania or New Jersey or be eligible to sit for the NPTE prior to start date.
  • All applicants must be a current member of the APTA and Academy of Orthopedic Physical Therapy
  • All applicants must have two (2) letters of recommendation. If you are a recent graduate, include a letter of recommendation from one of your clinical instructors.
  • All applicants must demonstrate through their personal statement and/or letters of recommendation a strong commitment to the philosophy of the specialty of orthopedics and the principles of the St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency.
  • It is highly recommended that all applicants are members of the AAOMPT.
  • Acceptance into the program is provisional provided the candidate meets all employment eligibility requirements of SLUHN.
  • The deadline for the application submission is rolling.

Contact Us

Stephen Kareha, PT, DPT, ATC, Ph.D.

Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopedic Physical Therapy

Stephen.Kareha@sluhn.org

Our Faculty:

Core Faculty:

Faculty:

Graduates: 

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

  • Nicholas Adriance, PT, DPT
  • Jenna Cornell, PT, DPT

2016

  • William Arthur, PT, DPT
  • Akriti Sharma, PT, DPT

2015

  • Andrue Bergmooser, PT, DPT
  • Andrew Feher, PT, DPT
  • Alex Harris, PT, DPT

2014

2013

Neurologic Residency

Why St. Luke’s? 

  • Experiential learning consisting of diverse observational and interactive learning experiences throughout the St. Luke’s University Health Network and the Lehigh Valley community
  • Consistent site and schedule throughout the full year of residency
  • 1:1 mentoring with experienced neurologic physical therapists
  • Opportunities to participate in research, teaching, and mentoring at local universities
  • Full time benefits and competitive salary

Our Mission:

The mission of St. Luke’s University Health Network Neurologic Residency program is to develop experts in the field of neurologic physical therapy to ensure patients within our community have access to the highest quality, patient-centered care to achieve their best level of community participation and functional mobility.

Facilities:

St. Luke’s University Health Network is a regional medical health network. Within the health system there are several outpatient neurologic rehab specialty sites in which residents will practice. Additionally, there are acute rehabilitation hospital locations connected to the larger acute hospitals in which residents will complete their inpatient practice. As part of the interprofessional experiential learning activities, residents will have the opportunity to observe through the continuum of care in a variety of specialties within the health network. The impressive medical library has research and small group study rooms, and access to a vast number of online and physical resources.

Program Outline:

  • 12 months beginning in June
  • Access to Neurologic consortium for curriculum and onsite faculty led classes
  • Patient care time: 25% outpatient, 25% inpatient, and 50% elective
  • Full time benefits and competitive salary
  • Weekly interprofessional experiential learning activities
  • Weekly 1:1 mentoring
  • Full residency tuition reimbursement available

Program Stats:

  • 100% Completion rate
  • 100% Program retention rate
  • 100% of all Graduates took ABPTS Board Certification Exam in Neurology
  • 100% of all Graduates have chosen to stay at St. Luke’s after graduation

How to Apply:

Applications can be completed on the RF-PT CAS website. Any questions can be directed to Elizabeth McCormick. Applications are accepted as a rolling admission but will be due for review for the upcoming academic year by January 31st.

Contact Us

Elizabeth McCormick, PT, DPT

Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy

Elizabeth.McCormick@sluhn.org

Our Faculty:

Core Faculty:

Faculty:

Pediatric Residency

Why St. Luke’s?

  • Experiential learning consisting of diverse observational and interactive learning experiences throughout the St. Luke’s University Health Network and Lehigh Valley community
  • Evidence-based, personalized approach to a variety of pediatric diagnoses in small multidisciplinary outpatient clinics
  • 1:1 Mentoring with experienced pediatric physical therapists
  • Opportunities to participate in research, teaching, and mentoring at local universities
  • Involvement in advocacy, leadership, and community activities
  • Full time benefits and competitive salary
  • Access to outdoor activities and vibrant night life that the Lehigh Valley offers

Our Mission:

To promote and enhance the profession of pediatric physical therapy by producing pediatric specialists that deliver the highest quality, family-centered care to help patients and families live more fulfilling lives and become the providers of choice in the communities we serve.​

Facilities:

  • 8 Pediatric Outpatient Clinics
  • Aquatic Therapy
  • Early Intervention
  • Inpatient, NICU, and local school experiences

Program Outline:

  • 12 months in duration
  • Access to Academy of Pediatrics Residency Consortium and onsite faculty led classes for educational curriculum
  • Weekly interprofessional experiential learning activities and exposure to pediatric practice settings
  • Weekly 1:1 mentoring
  • Full residency tuition reimbursement available

Program Goals:

  • Provide residents with high quality experiences and exposure to a wide variety of pediatric conditions
  • Prepare residents to be ambassadors for physical therapy through 1:1 mentoring, teaching, marketing, and professional collaboration across the continuum of care
  • Educate residents to use evidence-based approaches to pediatric physical therapy Include residents as valuable members of our interdisciplinary teams
  • Prepare residents to take the ABPTS Pediatric Specialty Exam

How to Apply:

Applications can be completed on the RF-PT CAS website. Any questions can be directed to Lisa Nekola. Applications are accepted as a rolling admission but will be due for review for the upcoming academic year by January 31st.

Contact Us

Lisa Nekola, PT, DPT, MBA

Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatric Physical Therapy

Lisa.Nekola@sluhn.org

Our Faculty:

Core Faculty:

Faculty:

Frequently Asked Questions - Orthopedic Residency

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.

Explore our Facilities

St. Luke’s University Health Network is a regional medical health network. Within the health system there are several outpatient orthopedic, neurologic, and pediatric rehab specialty sites in which residents will practice.

Additionally, there are acute rehabilitation hospital locations connected to the larger acute hospitals in which residents will complete their inpatient practice. As part of the professional experiential learning activities, residents will have the opportunity to observe through the continuum of care in a variety of specialties within the health network.

The impressive medical library has research and small group study rooms, and access to a vast number of online and physical resources.