Curriculum
The Sports Doctoral Fellowship is a combined Doctor of Science program from Baylor University and APTA Credentialed Clinical Fellowship in Sports Physical Therapy.
All sports fellows are required to obtain the Sports Emergency Medical Responder credential (or be a current Certified Athletic Trainer or current EMT-B) to be eligible to attend the program and provide sideline or courtside coverage for athletic events. The EMR credential is also a pre-requisite to sit for the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties - Sports Clinical Specialists examination.
The 24-month program consists of rigorous, advanced, sports medicine focused training designed to prepare experienced physical therapists to be clinical experts for neuromusculoskeletal conditions from the point-of-injury (often on the athletic field), through evidence-based therapeutic intervention, culminating in return to competition (and/or military duty).
The program is divided into four semesters and the curriculum includes a comprehensive array of clinically relevant topics including: anatomy, biomechanics, differential diagnosis, radiology, pharmacology, research design and statistics. Additionally, Fellows complete sports-specific special topics such as athletic injuries, athletic taping, on-the-field point-of-injury emergency care, dermatology, and performance enhancement.
Semester I
| COURSE | June - December | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PHT 6387 | Research & Statistics I | 3 |
| PHT 6391 | Clinical Fellowship I | 3 |
| PHT 6310 | Soft Tissue and Bone Pathophysiology | 3 |
| PHT 6320 | Athletic Injuries I | 3 |
| PHT 6395 | Advanced Sports Medicine Practicum I | 3 |
| PHT 6150 | Orthopaedic Lecture Series I | 1 |
| Total | 16 |
Semester II
| COURSE | January - June | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PHT 6388 | Research & Statistics II | 3 |
| PHT 6392 | Clinical Fellowship II | 3 |
| PHT 6340 | Functional Anatomy and Biomechanics I | 3 |
| PHT 6396 | Advanced Sports Medicine Practicum II | 3 |
| PHT 6292 | Special Topics: Seminar I | 2 |
| PHT 6151 | Orthopaedic Lecture Series II | 1 |
| Total | 15 |
Semester III
| COURSE | July - December | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PHT 6389 | Research & Statistics III | 3 |
| PHT 6341 | Functional Anatomy and Biomechanics II | 3 |
| PHT 6393 | Clinical Fellowship III | 3 |
| PHT 6321 | Athletic Injuries II | 3 |
| PHT 6293 | Special Topics: Seminar II | 2 |
| PHT 6152 | Orthopaedic Lecture Series III | 1 |
| Total | 15 |
Semester IV
| COURSE | January - May | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PHT 6390 | Research & Statistics IV | 3 |
| PHT 6394 | Clinical Fellowship IV | 3 |
| PHT 6379 | Advanced Radiology in Sports Medicine | 3 |
| PHT 6384 | Independent Study | 3 |
| PHT 6397 | Advanced Sports Medicine Practicum III (Aug-Apr) | 3 |
| PHT 6294 | Differential Diagnosis in Sports Medicine | 2 |
| PHT 6153 | Orthopaedic Lecture Series IV | 1 |
| Total | 18 |
Total Program Credit Hours: 64
The fellows are required to participate in a minimum of 400 hours of sideline or courtside sports medicine coverage from a variety of sports including, but not limited to boxing, football, wrestling, rugby, and lacrosse.
Fellows are exposed to civilian and military resources including weekly lectures and case studies with the John A. Feagin Jr Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship, Division I athletic coverage at USMA, collaboration with the United States Air Force Academy, All-Army Sports coverage, collaboration with The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, weekly webinars and "think tanks" with the Michigan Institute for Human Performance, and site visits with professional sports teams in the region.