Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency

The Neurologic Physical Therapy residency at Prisma Health is a clinical residency program administered by Physical Therapy Specialists, an outpatient clinic where the majority of clinicians have advanced training in physical, occupational or speech therapy.

This 12-month program offers 32 hours of clinical practice and 8 hours of didactic learning experiences, including lectures, labs, one-on-one training, self-paced learning modules and instruction at the University of South Carolina’s Physical Therapy Program. The residency also includes part-time rotations in acute care and inpatient rehabilitation settings. Residents are paid as full-time team members of Prisma Health and are eligible for benefits.

The residency has been granted candidacy status and is seeking full accreditation status by the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE) by September of 2025.

What is a clinical residency?

According to the ABPTRFE a clinical residency is defined as the following:

“A residency program is a post-professional planned learning experience comprised of a curriculum encompassing the essential knowledge, skills, and responsibilities of an advanced physical therapist within a defined area of practice. When board certification exists through the American Board of Physical Therapist Specialties for that specialty, the residency program prepares the physical therapist with the requisite knowledge and skill set needed to pass the certification examination following graduation.”

What are the benefits of a residency program?

The benefits of a residency program include:

• Completion of an ABPTRFE accredited residency program is one of the ways an individual can qualify to sit for the specialist certification exam.
• Those who participate in a clinical residency program have a 20–40% higher chance of passing the specialty exam the first time than those who did not complete a residency.
• Participants receive one-on-one mentoring from board certified physical therapy clinical specialists in the areas of geriatrics, and neurology.
• Participants improve their marketability as a clinician.
• Participants learn advanced and innovative clinical skills, improve clinical reasoning and analysis and become effective advocates for health promotion and continuity of care for the neurologic population.

Why choose Prisma Health’s residency program?

The mission of the Prisma Health’s Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency program is to prepare neurologic physical therapists to provide specialist care and management of the neurologic population through didactic and clinical learning experiences, modeling of clinical expertise and advanced clinical decision making, research and teaching opportunities and community outreach.

Specialist care is demonstrated using evidence-based practices in collaboration with patients, families and interdisciplinary team members to maximize each patient’s functional potential. The program is committed to continuous growth and improvement through strategic initiatives to provide quality advanced education to graduate residents who are prepared to obtain board-certification in neurology through the ABPTS.

The residency offers a comprehensive curriculum in collaboration with the Institute for Knowledge Translation, which meets the minimum required hours of 1,800 total program hours. This includes 300 educational or instructional hours and 1,500 patient care/clinic hours, which includes 150 hours of one-on-one mentoring throughout the course of the program.

The residency is offered by Physical Therapy Specialists, a hospital-based outpatient clinic with multiple sites that are a part of Prisma Health. The clinic offers:

• Physical, occupational and speech therapy services
• Nine specialty programs including neuroscience, post-concussion, women’s health, fall prevention and cancer rehabilitation
• Five orthopedic, three geriatric and two neurologic clinical specialists, in addition to five AAOMPT fellows
• Two full-time professors and four associated instructional/adjunct faculty members with the University of South Carolina Doctor of Physical Therapy program

Program application process

• Application process opens: April 1
• Application process closes: June 30
• Residency start date: September 1
• Residency end date: August 30 of the following year

For additional information about our program or the application process, please contact Program Director Ashlee Gregory, PT, DPT at Ashlee.Gregory@PrismaHealth.org

Prisma Health Neurologic Residency Financial Fact Sheet