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Residency Practice Areas
ABPTRFE currently accredits physical therapist residency programs in Acute Care, Cardiovascular & Pulmonary, Clinical Electrophysiology, Faculty, Geriatrics, Neurology, Oncology, Orthopaedics, Pediatrics, Sports, Women's Health, and Wound Management.
Fellowship Practice Areas
ABPTRFE currently accredits physical therapist fellowship programs in Critical Care, Hand Therapy, Higher Education Leadership, Neonatology, Neurologic Movement Disorders, Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy, Performing Arts, Spine, Sports Division 1, and Upper Extremity Athlete.
Establishing A New Practice Area
ABPTRFE has outlined procedures to establish a new area of physical therapist residency or fellowship practice.
Accreditation Timeline and Overview
ABPTRFE meets three times annually to make initial accreditation decisions in January, May, and September based on the initial accreditation tracks (e.g., Track One, Track Two, Track Three), as outlined within the ABPTRFE Processes and Procedures.
Developing programs are encouraged to begin by reviewing ABPTRFE's Initial Accreditation Timelines and consult with ABPTRFE staff for planning purposes.
Interested programs should begin preparing for the application process by reviewing the Self-Evaluation Report and Exhibits a minimum of nine to 12 months prior to submitting the Application for Candidacy.
Clinical Program Self-Evaluation Report
Non-Clinical Program Self-Evaluation Report
- Exhibit 2: Mission and Goals Chart
- Exhibit 2: Guidance and Examples
- Exhibit 3: Assessment Table
- Exhibit 3: Guidance and Examples
- Exhibit 9 (Clinical) / Exhibit 8 (Non-Clinical): Faculty Qualifications Chart
- ABPTRFE Mentoring Observation Evaluation
- Annual Continuous Improvement Report
- Substantive Changes
- Non-Substantive Changes
- Accreditation Report Rubric
- Site Visit Guidelines
- Residency/Fellowship Education HUB
- Courses
- Tutorials
- Recorded Webinars
- ABPTRFE 2025 Webinar Series
Please join ABPTRFE for the following webinars scheduled in 2025. All webinars will be recorded and posted to the ABPTRFE website for those who are unable to attend.
- Aug. 14, 7-8 p.m. ET
Guest Speaker: Call for Action: Excellence and Value in Residency Education
ABPTRFE is hosting guest speakers Raine Osborne, PT, DPT, EdD and Matthew Briggs, PT, DPT, ATC, PhD who will share the results from a nationwide study and call to action. The presentation concludes with a Q&A session.
Register in advance for this webinar.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Please email questions to ABPTRFE in advance of the webinar.
- Nov. 13, 1-2 p.m. ET
Curriculum Mapping
ABPTRFE is hosting a presentation on tips and tools on curriculum development and mapping to align instruction with desired program goals and outcomes. A review of tools and resources for curriculum mapping will be providing to facilitate programs thoroughly documenting what is taught and when based on requirements outlined with the specialty/subspecialty DRP and DFP. The presentation concludes with a Q&A session.
Register in advance for this webinar.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Please email questions to ABPTRFE in advance of the webinar.
- Aug. 14, 7-8 p.m. ET
Descriptions of Residency Practice
DRPs are used by programs to reduced unwarranted curriculum variability; provide residents minimum consistency in learning experiences for that area of practice; and streamline the accreditation process for reporting.
Descriptions of Fellowship Practice
DFPs are used to reduce unwarranted curriculum variability; provide fellows-in-training minimum consistency in learning experiences for that area of practice; and streamline the accreditation process for reporting
