Prisma Health Fellowship Program in Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy

Prisma Health’s fellowship program in orthopaedic manual physical therapy is a clinical fellowship program.  The program, which is administered by Physical Therapy Specialists, includes a multi-site clinic where the majority of the clinicians have advanced training in physical, occupational, and speech therapy.  The aim and goal of the clinic is to provide expert clinical reasoning and assessments while embracing innovation through means of interventions and evaluative processing.  As educators and seekers of knowledge, Physical Therapy Specialists has a strong desire to contribute to the profession at the highest level possible. 

Cultivating excellence and advanced clinical skills 

Our fellowship program is a 12-month program for physical therapists who have at least one-year clinical experience in physical therapy direct patient care, obtained a board certification as an Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist, have completed an APTA accredited orthopaedic residency program, or show prior experience in orthopaedics and manual therapy through certifications, continuing education courses, or clinical experiences in the last five years. During the 12-month program, the physical therapist will be a full-time team member, and will be eligible for benefits provided to all team members.   The fellow-in-training will receive 150 hours of one-on-one mentoring from a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy (FAAOMPT) and will participate in at least 360 hours of didactic learning experiences including lectures, labs, one-on-one training, self-paced learning modules, and instruction at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.  The fellowship program has achieved candidacy status for accreditation with ACOMPTE.  Achieving candidacy status is not an indication that ACOMPTE will grant initial accreditation.  If granted initial accreditation, the effective date of such accreditation will be the date of the site visit upon which the successful accreditation was based.  The site visit is scheduled for January 23-24, 2025.  

What is a clinical fellowship? 

According to ACOMPTE a clinical fellowship is defined as the following: 

“A fellowship is advanced graduate physical therapy education for individuals who have completed a residency, attained certification or demonstrable skills in a specialty area and desire to gain more specialized practice.”  

According to ACOMPTE orthopaedic manual physical therapy is defined as the following: 

Orthopaedic manual physical therapy (OMPT) is a subspecialty of physical therapy featuring a systematic active approach for management of a broad spectrum of physical disorders.  Based on a patient-centered advanced clinical reasoning model taught in fellowship training.  OMPT has key distinguishing characteristics that include expertise in hands-on interactive education and treatment strategies inclusive of thrust and non-thrust manipulation.  Essential to OMPT is a focus on continuous reassessment through all aspects of care, synergistic application of carefully designed and dosed exercise, and a patient-centered long-term mindset driven by the available scientific and clinical evidence, and biopsychosocial framework of each individual patient.” 

What are the benefits of a fellowship program? 

The benefits of a fellowship program are: 

• Completion of an accredited fellowship program makes a physical therapist eligible for membership of the American Academy of Manual Physical Therapy (AAOMPT). 

• Participants receive one-on-one mentoring from a Fellow of the American Academy of Manual Physical Therapy. 

• Participants improve their marketability as a clinician. 

• Participants learn advanced and innovative clinical skills, improve clinical reasoning and analysis and become a leader in the field of orthopedic manual physical therapy.

Why choose Prisma Health’s fellowship program? 

The mission of the Prisma Health Fellowship Program in Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy is to cultivate a fellow with excellent clinical reasoning skills and an advanced manual therapy skill set in the field of orthopaedics through the utilization of didactic learning, practical experience, integration of evidence-based practice, and the use of innovative interventions that will ultimately provide patients with superior care and outcomes.  

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

• Physical, occupational and speech therapy services 

• Nine specialty programs including neuroscience, post-concussion, fall prevention, and cancer rehabilitation.  

• Seven orthopaedic, four geriatric, and two neurological specialists, in addition to five AAOMPT fellows 

• Two full-time professors and seven associated instructional/adjunction faculty members with the University of South Carolina Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, and University of South Carolina Exercise Science Department  

We are proud to be the only orthopaedic manual fellowship program in the state of South Carolina and will offer a comprehensive curriculum including topics of upper and lower quarter dry needing, manipulations/mobilizations, instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, blood flow restriction, differential diagnosis, wellness, sports nutrition, pain science, vestibular and post-concussion, innovations in rehab, diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound, research methods, progressive lifting techniques, pharmacology and pelvic floor therapy. 

Program application process 

Application process opens: September 1 

Application process closes: January 30 

Fellowship start date: April 1 

Fellowship end date: March 30 of the following year 

To apply, or for additional information about our program or the application process, contact Melissa Nolan, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT, at melissa.nolan2@prismahealth.org 

Program evaluation tools 

Prisma Health Fellowship in Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy uses the ACOMPTE Interim Standards Document 2020 and 2018 OMPT Description of Advanced Specialty Practice as a guide to determine content areas that the fellow-in-training is competent in.  Evaluative tools used throughout the fellowship include: 

• Three teaching evaluations assessing ability to teach physical therapy residents, DPT students, or other peers/colleagues. 

• A written examination based on orthopaedic manual physical therapy didactic and lab work taught in the fellowship. 

• Two live patient exams to evaluate clinical reasoning and orthopaedic evaluation skills. 

• Complete a Capstone Project, case report or systematic review, to be submitted for presentation at APTA-SC Annual Conference. 

• Clinical Mentoring Evaluation Tool for Orthopaedic Manual Fellow-in-Training completed at 50, 100, and 150 hours of 1:1 synchronous mentoring with a FAAOMPT.  

• Attendance and participation in Journal Club and Monthly Online Discussion Forums.  

• Critically appraise literature that is relevant to orthopaedic manual physical therapy by completing two Critically Appraised Topic Form. 

• Complete a community-based outreach project to provide education and/or service to the orthopaedic manual population or those that serve them. 

Program Goals and Outcomes 

Goals: 

1. Develop clinicians with advanced training and knowledge in orthopaedic manual physical therapy and have an expert clinical reasoning skill set who promote a high quality of evidence-based practice and implementation of the biopsychosocial model.  

2. The program will help develop the FiTs ability to critically assess research to enable them to provide scholarly contributions to the field of orthoapedic manual physical therapy. 

3. The program will provide FiTs with opportunities to develop leadership roles within the profession through mentoring and teaching. 

4. The program will cultivate an environment for the FiTs to promote better understanding of health care, general wellness, and physical therapy for the orthopaedic patient through involvement in local outreach education opportunities within the community. 

5. The program will maintain accreditation with ACOMPTE, if granted accreditation in 2025, and graduates will successfully achieve FAAOMPT status. 

6. The program will have sustainable faculty/mentoring for the program to be able to provide exceptional instruction to the FiTs for them to become advanced orthopaedic manual physical therapists.  

Outcomes: 

1. The FiTs will demonstrate advanced knowledge of human gross anatomy to have an expert clinical reasoning skill set as it pertains within the field of orthopaedic manual physical therapy. 

2. The FiTs will demonstrate advanced training and knowledge of OMPT techniques to safely and effectively improve a patient’s outcomes. 

3. The FiTs will contribute to the OMPT body of knowledge by submitting their capstone project of a case report, case series, or systematic review to be presented at a scientific venue, the APTA-SC annual conference.  

4. The FiTs will critically review quantitative and qualitative research literature recognizing quality in research design, data analysis, and levels of research evidence. 

5. The FiTs will contribute to the professional development of PT residents through teaching in a clinical setting pertaining to orthopaedic manual physical therapy. 

6. The FiTs will educate, guide, and mentor other health care professionals with respect to the scope and role of OMPT theory and practice. 

7. The FiTs will demonstrate advanced clinical reasoning characteristics of an advanced practitioner to enable effective examination and treatment of patients with neuromusculoskeletal disorders. 

8. The FiTs will safely and effectively choose and implement manual therapy techniques to decrease their patient’s pain and optimize function.  

The percentage of fellows-in-training earning FAAOMPT credentials within one year of graduation from the program is expected to be 100%.