Physical Therapy Orthopedic Residency Program

The American Board of Physical Therapy Residency & Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE) is the accrediting body for residency programs and maintains rigorous standards for education in knowledge, skills, and advanced orthopedic clinical practice.

The Healthlink Orthopedic Residency Program has been granted candidacy status through ABPTRFE for the 2025-2026 resident cohort and will be notified of full accreditation status by Fall 2026.

• Licensed Physical Therapist in the state of Texas: verified on the ECPTOTE website
• Basic Life Safety certified: Offered at no cost through the sponsoring organization. 
• Occupational Health screen and physical: performed by an Employee Health nurse through the sponsoring organization.
• Physical Therapist clinical rotation in an orthopedic setting

Please visit the Residency/Fellowship Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (RF-PTCAS) for detailed information about applying to our program: RF-PTCAS | Applicant Login Page Section

1. Develop advanced clinical reasoning skills for the evaluation and treatment of complex orthopedic conditions across the lifespan in an outpatient setting.
2. Enhance evidence-based practice by integrating current research with clinical expertise into day-to-day clinical decision-making.
3. Refine hands-on examination and intervention techniques through structured mentorship with fellowship-trained physical therapists and board-certified orthopedic specialists.
4. Foster interdisciplinary collaboration and professional communication through exposure to surgical observation and coordinated patient care alongside other healthcare providers.
5. Prepare residents for long-term professional advancement, including leadership development, lifelong learning, and readiness to pursue board certification as an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) if so desired.

The resident will work as a clinician in one of our Physical Therapy locations where they will be exposed to a diverse patient population and will be mentored by our orthopedic clinical specialists (OCS) and fellowship trained therapists (FAAOMPT). The resident will have access to various learning opportunities including one on one mentorship with orthopedic clinical specialists, surgery observation and observing orthopedics with other healthcare professionals.

The resident will spend approximately 36 hours per week in patient care, with four of those hours being one-on-one with an orthopedic clinical specialist mentor. Four hours a week will be spent on learning content based on orthopedic practice to include but not limited to: evaluation efficiency techniques, assessment tools, research-based treatments and advanced manual therapy techniques.