Douglas Wix PT, DPT, SCS, MTC
The Sports Physical Therapy
Program is funded by Proaxis Therapy and operates in collaboration with the
Steadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas. The program is design to be a twelve month
educational curriculum.
Each of the options includes the following basic
curricular components that occur concurrently through the program.
- Clinical Practice
- Clinical Mentoring
- Sports Specialist Training
- Clinical Investigations
- Clinical-Decision Making
- Didactic Coursework
- Specialty Practice Observation
Clinical Practice (CP): The
resident provides physical therapy services at Proaxis Therapy. The goal of the component is for the resident
to gain experience in the management of sport and orthopaedic pathologies and
ultimately integrate all other curricular components into his/her clinical
practice. There are three sequences of CP
(I – III), each phase requiring the resident to increase efficiency and
productivity.
Clinical Mentoring (CM): The
resident receives one-on-one mentoring with a board certified specialist, a
physical therapist with doctoral level training, an athletic trainer or a
physician. The resident and mentor will
focus patient population and mentoring on one specialty for 3 months (Upper
Extremity, Lower Extremity, Spine, Sports Medicine). Within each specialty there are three
sequences of CM (I – III), each phase emphasizing specific skills to include
examination and screening, diagnosis and prognosis, and intervention/return to
sport as noted in the Description of the Curriculum. The three sequences will be covered during the
three month specialty rotation. Each
resident will complete 1-3 appropriate mentor binders over the first month of
each specialty. Clinical mentoring will
occur regularly at Proaxis Therapy during dedicated time in the resident’s
schedule – however, additional one-on-one mentoring can occur off-site such as in
the athletic training room or on the sidelines of an athletic venue. The resident
will be required to perform a minimum of two patient evaluations. The patient
evaluations must include one the following body parts: shoulder, knee, ankle,
or spine. One of the patient’s evaluations may include a wellness or
pre-participation screening. The mentor for the specific quarter will assess
the resident’s evaluation skills and provide feedback following the
examination.
Sports Specialist Training (SST): The
resident participates in the prevention, evaluation, treatment and triage of
sport related injuries. The experience
includes the management of sport relate injuries and physical therapy coverage
at athletic venues. There are three
sequences of SST (I – III), with SST I emphasizing specific skills related to
basic competencies such as wrapping, taping and equipment fitting. SST I also
includes a rotation through the high school injury clinic conducted by the
primary care sports medicine physicians. The second phase emphasizes exposure
to “on-the-field” emergency management of sport injuries to include: spine boarding, splinting, face mask removal,
equipment removal, and emergency transport.
The third sequence will also
emphasize training related to sports performance training and off-season
conditioning. The resident will also
have opportunities to work with the professional and/or elite athletic
population and Accelerated Sports Institute Performance Program.
Clinical Investigations (CI): This
course includes three phases; the first (CI I) provides an overview of the
process of evidence-based medicine including a review of asking a clinically
relevant question, searching for evidence, critically appraising the evidence
and applying evidence to practice.
Residents will also be introduced to the principles of outcomes
management and the process of developing a minimal data set to track clinical
outcomes. CI II will require the
resident to collect data for the approved disease process or region of
impairment during Clinical Practice (II – III). CI III will provide the resident with
instruction on how to analyze and interpret the data set established during CI
II.
Clinical Decision Making (CDM): This
course is designed to expose the resident to the progress and logic
associated
with differential diagnosis and clinical decision making and involves
three
phases. Residents are challenged to
deduce the diagnosis of a clinical case problem and to determine how
the
diagnosis relates to the care of the patient.
This occurs in an interactive forum among students, residents, academic
and clinical faculty at Proaxis Therapy and the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic
of the Carolina’s. During the first sequence of this course (CDM
I), the resident will be required to systematically collect clinical
information related to the evaluation and treatment of a unique
clinical case
problem. During CDM II, the resident
will be required to present this case in an oral format for discussion
at
Physical Therapy Grand Rounds. The resident
will be required to integrate the clinical case problem presented in
CDM II
into written format suitable for publication in JOSPT as Case Report or Resident’s
Case Problem.
Didactic Coursework:
During each specialty section
of the CM course, the resident will be required to perform certain didactic
activities. These activities include
journal clubs which focus on evidence based practice relative to the CM
specialty. In addition the resident will
receive four (4) two (2) hour lectures which will focus on anatomy,
biomechanics, evaluation, rehabilitation, return to sport which will be
directed towards the specialty.
Specialty Practice Observation: The
course is designed for the resident to experience the multidisciplinary
management of the entire athlete. They
will be required to participate in mentored and/or observational experiences
with the following members of the sports medicine team: concussion experts, primary care physicians,
orthopaedic surgeons, sports performance trainers, biomechanists, and sports
medicine researchers.
Click on the following links
for a curriculum overview and course sequence.
For more information, contact Doug Wix at wix@proaxistherapy.com
or 864-541-0600.