Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency Program
Our Mission
The HealthCare Partners Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency Program provides clinical training to help you achieve clinical excellence by greatly accelerating your professional development in the areas of clinical decision-making, assessment, and treatment skills. The program’s goal is to help you become:
- A board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy
- A highly skilled patient care provider
- A resource to others in the field of physical therapy
- An educator and mentor to others
- A competent contributor to scientific literature
Our Program
Established in 2000, the Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency Program received accreditation by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) in 2001 as a post-professional clinical residency program in orthopedics for physical therapists. The Program graduated its first two residents in 2001.
Two residents per year are accepted into a 50-week program that runs from January through December, with emphasis on manual therapy and clinical reasoning in preparation for the Orthopedic Clinical Specialist exam. Residents have the opportunity to see more than 500 new patients of varied orthopedic diagnoses and become clinical instructors to first-year PT students.
Residents spend a total of 37 days throughout the year in a lab/lecture environment, learning manual techniques with residents from other local programs. This usually takes place on weekends.
Tuesdays through Fridays are 8-hour work days. Five hours per week are spent with a mentor from our clinical faculty. Mentor time will include 3 consultations and 4 return patient visits, for a total of 250 mentor-hours per year. Residents will work with various clinical faculty members who are all board-certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialists. Our staff consists of 11 PTs (7 0CSs, 1 CHT) and 4 PTAs.
The HealthCare Partners Physical Therapy program offers a highly competitive salary. The five hours of mentor time per week are unpaid.
Total tuition for this residency is $4,000. HealthCare Partners pays $2,000 and each resident pays $2,000.
Applications are available year-round and are due by July 31 for admission to the program that begins January of the following year. Learn how to apply.
Our Location
Our clinic is located in Torrance, California, just a few miles from some of the best beaches in Southern California. While completing your residency, you can also take advantage of the area’s great weather by participating in your favorite outdoor activities.
In 2005, we moved into the Skypark Specialty Office, a brand-new 6,000 square foot clinic designed to make your clinical experience an outstanding one.
- For more information, please contact:
- Tina Hertlein, PT, OCS, CHT
- 23430 Hawthorne Blvd, #105
- Torrance, CA 90505
- 310.465.2451
- 310.373.4686 Fax
- thertlein@healthcarepartners.com