Licensed PT’s: Must be a US citizen to be hired by a VA Hospital. You will need to be licensed to practice in Wisconsin by the start of the residency program.
PT students: Must be on track to graduate and plan sit for WI licensure by the start of the residency program.

No, but evidence of an interest in neurologic rehabilitation is desirable.

Yes.

Yes.

The number of applications is going up every year. For the 2011 deadline, we received 6 applications.

No.

Two.

Our program currently does not have an application or tuition fee, although we are considering having to implement a programming fee in the near future. The costs associated with the program are related to some of the didactic programming which is offered via live webinars through the Neurologic Physical Therapy Professional Education Consortium. Our residents participate in the 10 webinar option which is ~$600. In addition, the VA supports the resident in attending CSM, but does not cover travel and housing expenses.

No, but residents often qualify for student rates or can attend VA or MU-sponsored programming for free.

The residents are hired by the VA as a full time staff, with all of the benefits (parking, health care, sick leave, accrue time off), but are paid 70% of a full time new grad starting salary, which is currently ~$43,000.

Given the busy schedule and heavy load of teaching, didactic, and research expectations, it is unlikely that you will feel you have the time to work outside of the residency program.

No.

Residents are contracted to provide 30 hours of direct PT services a week. Work days tend to be Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, with Weds scheduled for teaching, research, didactic programming and prep.

Mentoring sessions are scheduled weekly, with topics to be determined by the resident and mentors depending on the resident’s interests, needs, previous experiences, and opportunities available.

Teaching hours vary depending on which class the resident is teaching, however, teaching commitments may range between 4-16 hours per week depending on the semester. Teaching responsibilities are regulated to the position of teaching assistant, and generally require hands on assistance in labs, setting up the equipment for the class, and may involve 1 or 2 lectures.

Yes. Residents will attend ALS, MS, Movement disorders, and EMG clinics during their OP rotation.

All residents will spend 1 day a week for 6 weeks in an outpatient pediatric setting. Additional specific TBI, Vestibular, adaptive sports, and community day programming opportunities may also be arranged depending on the interest of the resident.

Between the clinical practice, mentoring, teaching, research, and didactic programming, it is anticipated that the resident spends 50-55 hr/wk on residency-related activities. In addition to direct patient care, this includes teaching prep time, data analysis, assigned readings, webinar attendance, researching given topics, etc.