After a rigorous application process, the Sacred Heart University Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency Program has received accreditation from the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE). This makes Sacred Heart’s program one of 36 accredited orthopaedic physical therapy programs in the country and one of only two in New England.

Dr. Michael Emery, chairman of the Physical Therapy and Human Movement Science Department, and Dr. Gary Austin, residency program director, initiated the accreditation process in 2009. The process included a detailed self study and two site visits by ABPTRFE since 2009. Drs. Emery and Austin were notified in January that the program had earned accreditation.

The program trains two orthopaedic physical therapy residents each year who practice, study and teach advanced orthopaedic physical therapy in the academic program and University’s physical therapy clinic. The program has graduated six orthopedic residents to date.

Dr. Emery believes the accreditation will be helpful to the students who graduate from the Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency Program. “It’s tough to receive this accreditation. It’s a significant achievement. Only the best clinical residency programs are accredited, and the best clinicians will come out of these accredited programs,” he says.

“I’m very proud that the physical therapy program has taken this step forward into post-professional education. The Orthopaedic Residency Program will provide additional opportunities for our DPT graduates and will allow them to be more competitive in the job market,” says Dr. Patricia Walker, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. “Dr. Austin and Dr. Emery were instrumental in meeting this goal, and I congratulate them both on their success.”

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