Kaiser Permanente Northern California offers a unique, 24-month physical therapy fellowship program which provides extensive post-graduate training in orthopaedic manual physical therapy and musculoskeletal primary care. The 100% on-site format, breadth of clinical training and the broad spectrum of clinical experiences offered in KP’s integrated health care system position graduates for certain success in today’s competitive health care market. The Vallejo medical center is located twenty minutes from the Napa Valley and just across the bay from the city of San Francisco. The program is credentialed by the Accreditation Council on Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy Education (ACOMPTE).
Program Director: Michael D. Bang, PT
Learn more about our program
Program curriculum is based upon Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy: A Description of Advanced Specialty Practice published by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT) in 2018. Didactic and laboratory instruction hours exceed the required AAOMPT standards. Classroom experiences and 1:1 mentoring emphasize advanced clinical reasoning, thorough examination, targeted manual therapy interventions, therapeutic and prescribed exercise, observation of treatment effect and patient education. Fellows receive their didactic and laboratory instruction in a dedicated classroom located at the Vallejo campus.
Clinical practice and training occur at both the Vallejo and Vacaville medical centers. To maximize caseload diversity, all FiT rotate through each clinical site for a period of 12-months. The 1:1 clinical supervision hours exceed AAOMPT / ACOMPTE standards. To ensure a well-rounded clinical experience, every effort is made to align the FiT caseload with current academic modules. All Clinical faculty practice on-site, allowing the FiT consistent access to their mentors whenever in clinic. The clinical faculty’s average practice experience is 16 years (range: 8–37 years).
Our mission
The Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Fellowship in Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy and Musculoskeletal Primary Care seeks to promote an educational environment specifically designed to help fellows-in-training (FiT) synthesize clinical knowledge and develop the judgment and professional behaviors necessary to achieve advanced clinical competence in orthopaedic manual physical therapy and musculoskeletal primary care. Additionally, the program aspires to graduate fellows capable of competently and confidently delivering value-based health care across diverse practice settings including primary care and direct access practice venues.
Details you should know
- Number of Fellows-in-Training: Up to 8
- Full-time Faculty: 18
- 8 hours/week formal seminar and lab (600 hours total)
- 1 hour/week journal club and tutorial
- 4.5 hours/week 1:1 clinical supervision (total = 380 hours)
- 36 hour/week patient care (27 hours ambulatory care / 9 hours hospital-based emergency department practice)
- No Tuition Fees
- Competitive annual salary
- Generous employee benefit package including medical, dental, disability insurance, paid holidays and paid-time-off
Program Outcomes
The Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Fellowship in Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy and Musculoskeletal Primary Care has a 100% graduation rate. Of the 56 graduates, 3 are tenured professors in entry level Physical Therapy education, 7 are associate professors in entry level Physical Therapy education, 18 are clinical mentors in residency and fellowship education, and 7 are in leadership roles. One graduate founded the USAF Tactical Sports & Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy Fellowship. 100% of our graduates rated their fellowship-in-training experience as extremely positive. 100% of our graduates reported their training experience as a significant career enhancer as it relates to professional satisfaction and self-confidence in clinical ability.