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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 2024 Webinar Series
Please join ABPTRFE for the following webinars scheduled in 2024. All webinars will be recorded and posted to the ABPTRFE website for those who are unable to attend.
- Aug. 15, 1-2 p.m. ET
How to Prepare the SER
ABPTRFE is hosting a presentation on how to prepare the SER during accreditation and renewal of accreditation. Tips for programs on accessing and reviewing ABPTRFE's Accreditation Report Rubric to ensure program responses are clear and meeting ABPTRFE requirements will be highlighted.
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. 21, 7-8 p.m. ET
Guest Speaker: Competency AI
ABPTRFE is hosting a guest speaker from Competency AI who will review the system and features available to clinical residency programs to assist in evaluating resident achievement of the required Domains of Competency (Key Element 2.1.5).
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. 15, 1-2 p.m. ET
- Reference Documents
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
