UND Department of Physical Therapy becomes fifth program nationwide with an accredited Faculty Residency
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Marking a rare achievement, the University of North Dakota’s Department of Physical Therapy (PT) has become only the fifth program in the nation – and the first in the Midwest – to earn American Board of Physical Therapy accreditation for its PT Faculty Residency Program.
The milestone represents more than just a recognition of excellence for North Dakota’s original PT education program. It’s a multi-professional solution to one of the biggest challenges facing healthcare training: a nationwide shortage of qualified educators.
“Our goal is to prepare the resident to be the best faculty member they can be for a physical therapy department anywhere,” explained Gary Schindler, professor of physical therapy at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS). “This isn’t just good for UND. It’s good for the profession.”
Nationwide shortage
Like other healthcare professions, PT is facing a nationwide provider shortage. The shortage of PTs in hospitals and clinics means a shortage in the classroom for schools that need quality instructors, said Cindy Flom-Meland, chair of UND’s Department of Physical Therapy.
“What’s happening around the country is that people are retiring, resulting in faculty shortages,” Flom-Meland explained. “So we see the residency as a pathway to additional faculty for us, and for Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs in general.”
For many health professions, the terminal degree for practicing healthcare on patients in hospitals and clinics is considered a “clinical doctorate.” In the case of physical therapy, this means a DPT, which is the degree that UND’s PT program provides its students.
However, accrediting agencies also require that programs maintain a certain number of research-oriented faculty – with Ph.D. degrees to their name – in the classroom.
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of Ph.D.-trained physical therapists out there, added Dave Relling, senior associate dean for health sciences at SMHS. As a result, health science training programs often have to grow their own faculty in-house.
“If, for example, a department can’t hire another full time faculty member because they don’t yet have their Ph.D. or Doctor of Education degree,” Relling explained, “they can fill a gap through a residency program. This helps build the next generation of physical therapy educators at a time when they’re needed most.”
Multi-professional residency
Each year, the PT department will welcome one resident — a licensed physical therapist — who will serve as a short-term faculty member while completing the two-year residency. Residents gain hands-on experience in teaching and curriculum design, participate in scholarly projects, and complete graduate-level coursework through UND’s College of Education & Human Development (CEHD).
These courses will result in a College Teaching Certificate from the CEHD and the opportunity to further explore the College’s Ed.D. or Ph.D.-granting programs.
“Residents are obviously in the classroom. They’re teaching their syllabus, leading a class,” said Schindler, who helped build the PT residency, in part, through his own doctoral training at UND. “As time goes on, they’re also learning about governance in higher ed and learning about service. And there's a scholarship piece where they have to complete a project as part of the residency too, meaning research.”
Residents will also complete UND’s Alice T. Clark mentoring program and a Faculty Development Workshop through the American Physical Therapy Association.
Celebrating the program’s collaborative character, Relling said that the residency is truly multi-professional in scope, which is what a university is supposed to encourage among faculty, staff, and students.
“Even within the building, Gary reached out to different faculty across departments,” he said. “There are other people involved who he’s brought into play – more than just PT faculty. This way, the resident gains a broad perspective of what it means to be an academic.”
Other American universities managing a PT Faculty Residency program to date are: Duke University (Durham, N.C.), Nova Southeastern University (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (Provo, Utah), and the University of Colorado Anshutz Medical Campus (Aurora, Colo.).
By joining this select group, UND is not only strengthening its own academic program but also contributing to the long-term sustainability and excellence of the physical therapy profession nationwide.
“This is a huge win,” smiled Schindler.
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Brian James Schill
Director, Office of Alumni & Community Relations
UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences
701.777.6048 direct | 701.777.4305 office
brian.schill@UND.edu | www.UND.edu