What is a Sports Certified Specialist?
After graduating with their Doctorate in Physical Therapy, Physical Therapists (PTs) then take their National Physical Therapy Board Exam to become licensed and begin practicing Physical Therapy. Post-graduation, PTs can then choose to become board-certified specialists in one of 11 specialty areas, one of which is Sports. The clinical specialist in the area of Sports Physical Therapy uses advanced clinical knowledge and skills in a variety of settings in the athletic environment and treating an athletic patient population. As of June 2021, only 2,738 physical therapists have an American Board of Physical Therapy Specialty (ABPTS) designation as a Sports Certified Specialist (SCS). The process to prepare for the Board Certification Examination is an intense pathway and can be completed via self-study or through a structured residency program.
What is a Sports Residency Program?
According to the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE), “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.” The ABPTS describes key competencies for the Sports Certified Specialist to include: rehabilitation/return to activity, acute injury/illness management, sports science, medical/surgical considerations, injury prevention, and critical inquiry.
A residency program further elevates the practice of a Sports Clinician by providing learning opportunities and hands on training, along with 1:1 mentoring that allows them to truly become the best and most excellent clinician for the patients they are working with in their specialty field. Additionally, a sports residency program includes training in acute injury and illness management, and provides on-field observation hours to increase experience in the examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis and intervention of the acutely injured athlete. A sports residency program provides an accelerated pathway to advanced clinical practice in the specialty of sports physical therapy.
About Ivy Rehab HSS Sports Residency Program
Ivy Rehab and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) have worked closely together to develop this Sports Residency Program (SRP) for Ivy Rehab employees. Hospital for Special Surgery brings their expertise and experience in sports residency education in collaboration with Ivy Rehab’s strong platform of resources, drive, and support to sustain high quality education and training for their therapists. This allows for a very team-based foundation from both organizations to create a well-rounded Sports Residency Program. 2023 will be the inaugural class of the Sports Residency Program in it’s current state.
The SRP is open to all licensed and practicing full time Physical Therapists employed by Ivy Rehab Network.
Two main goals of this post-professional program are:
- To prepare clinicians to successfully sit for the ABPTS Sports Certified Specialist exam once they are eligible
- To develop advanced level clinicians in the specialty practice of sports through evidence-based education and clinical mentoring.
The Ivy Rehab HSS SRP is a 12-month program that is led by Program Directors Brittany Antin and Ryan Stahl from Ivy Rehab and Michelle Cilenti from HSS. This program has been designed with a team of educators from HSS and Ivy as a comprehensive residency curriculum including self-study modules, asynchronous videos, essential reading, online weekly synchronous learning/journal club/case review, Sports CORE rounds with HSS physicians, and four in-person weekend intensive courses. The program is designed in a hybrid format to allow any therapist across the Ivy Rehab Network to participate in this advanced clinical program.
Each resident is teamed up with a qualified mentor to complete at least 150 hours of 1:1 mentoring over the course of the residency year. The mentors typically complete their mentoring hours in the resident’s clinic and provide support, education, coaching and guidance to the resident. Mentorship is a cornerstone of the SRP and all other residency programs Ivy offers. The time the mentor and resident spend together is a very valuable component that truly helps clinicians develop into specialists and advanced practitioners. Additionally, this program leverages the relationships of your directors and area directors to make connections and opportunities for on-field experiences.
As a part of our program mission, we strive to develop highly skilled clinicians through professional development, leading to advanced practice in sports physical therapy. Through evidence-based practice, clinicians will appropriately prepare for sports clinical specialization and serve as a resource for the local sports community. Our program additionally supports the residents by providing leadership skills and opportunities to continually move our profession forward.
Article By: Brittany Antin PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, ATC, CSCS and Christina Bentrewicz, PT, DPT, OCS
Brittany Antin, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, ATC, CSCS is one of the Directors of the Sports Residency Program at Ivy Rehab. Brittany has over 8 years of clinical experience as a Physical Therapist in sports and orthopedic rehabilitation, and over 11 years of experience as a Certified Athletic Trainer and is a dual-board certified Specialist in the areas of Sports and Orthopedics. Brittany is passionate about elevating the field of physical therapy and spends time mentoring and educating physical therapists to continue to advance the practice of physical therapy.
Christina Bentrewicz, PT, DPT, OCS, is the Director of Residency Programs/Director of the Orthopedic Residency Program at Ivy Rehab. With over 20 years of clinical experience as a Physical Therapist in outpatient rehabilitation and a board-certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, she has a passion for providing and creating opportunities for therapists to provide advanced and specialized care to patients to improve the quality of life of everyone involved in the process.
