Why I Chose To Do An Orthopedic Fellowship

It’s been almost 2 years since I started an orthopedic manual fellowship with the Manual Therapy Institute. I’ve had many people ask me why I’m doing the fellowship, but first, let’s start with what is required to become a PT.

To become a physical therapist, you must obtain a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate in physical therapy. After that, you’re able to apply for your physical therapy license and practice. Once you get your license, you aren’t required to go through any additional schooling besides a few continuing education courses every couple of years.

Reasons why I’m doing the fellowship

Physical therapy school is typically 3 years in duration, but that still isn’t adequate time to prepare new graduates to be able to treat patients confidently. When I started treating patients, I felt like I was constantly looking things up, asking coworkers for advice, and wondering why a significant percentage of my patients weren’t getting better. That’s because you can’t just take the classes you’re interested in taking in physical therapy school—you need to learn about cardiology, pediatrics, neurology, and orthopedics to name a few.

One of my clinical rotations in school was with a physical therapist who completed the fellowship, and his knowledge, grasp of the body as a whole system, and techniques for treating patients were first-class. That’s when I knew I wanted to go through the fellowship program.

Physical therapy is a great profession, but many PTs aren’t equipped with the skills to treat the cause of a patient’s complaint, and instead, only look to treat the symptoms as they arise.

Since starting the fellowship, I’ve been able to quickly level up my hands-on skills that can produce results instantly. Showing instant progress to a patient allows them to buy into what we do and often produces better results in the long run.

Also, many misconceptions about the fellowship include a reliance on manual techniques and joint manipulations. Yes, we do learn innumerable ways to mobilize just about every joint in the body, but that is not where the focus of the program is. It’s in the clinical decision-making of the therapist. This is what makes a fellow-trained therapist different from the rest. A fellow can identify the tissue that is producing a person’s pain, as well as why that tissue became irritable in the first place. Being able to identify a pain-generating structure and a reason why it became that way is crucial in constructing an individual rehab program that actually works.

Cons of doing the fellowship

Better hands-on skills, improved clinical decision-making, and better patient results sound great, but there are a few drawbacks to doing the fellowship.

It is a major investment, both in terms of time and money. I’ve been studying the material for the past two years nearly every day in some capacity. Luckily, I don’t have children or any other big responsibilities in my life at this time so I’m able to invest many hours into the program.

To become a fellow, you need to complete the didactic curriculum, pass the midterm and final written and practical exams, and complete 450 mentorship hours with a fellow-trained therapist, typically in concurrence with working a full-time job. So the program requires a lot of your time over the 3 years.

The program’s tuition fee is around $16,000 in total. Some physical therapy companies pay for a portion of the program, but there’s typically a significant portion the therapist needs to pay as well. In most fields of work, further schooling and degrees come with a pay increase, but unfortunately, most companies do not pay extra for physical therapists who’ve earned a fellowship degree even though they practice at a higher level.

Is it all worth it?

Absolutely. It may not be for everyone, but at this stage in my life/career, it’s been a great decision.

My confidence in my knowledge of physical therapy and skillset has improved dramatically in just a couple of years. It has saved me numerous headaches and shortcomings that many new graduate physical therapists face coming out of school.

I’ve also met and worked with some of the best and brightest physical therapists in the world. It is inspiring and motivates me to be better each day. Ironically, spending more time working on my craft has made work much more fun. I enjoy going to work most days now because I feel like I have the skills and knowledge to truly help people and figure out the cause of their pain.

Feel free to leave a comment or email me if you have any questions about the fellowship program or what it entails.