Curriculum

The Medstar Health (MedStar)/The George Washington University (GW) will prepare residents to achieve our mission through a full-time, fourteen month program including:

Clinical Practice

• 24+ hours of weekly clinical practice across neurologic diagnoses and acuity via rotations in acute care at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, inpatient rehabilitation at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, and outpatient rehabilitation at MedStar Health: Physical Therapy at Irving Street – Neurorehabilitation Center and MedStar Health: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
• 4 additional hours of 1:1 mentored clinical practice per week with residency mentor faculty
• Participation in the physician clinics at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and MedStar Health: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Clinics may include: neuromuscular disorders, movement disorders, concussion, spinal cord injury, spasticity, and orthotic/prosthetic clinic among others.

Teaching

• 4-8 hours teaching per week in neurologic courses in the GW’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program, including neuroscience and neurologic patient management courses. Hours vary depending on course demands.
• 1-2 additional hours per week of mentored teaching with instruction in educational theory, assessment methods, and instructional design.

Didactic Coursework

• 2 hours weekly didactic education and networking through the Neurologic Professional Education Consortium’s virtual webinars, as well as a four-day, on-site training modules in Los Angeles, CA.

Scholarly Project

• 2-4 hours weekly “independent study” time to develop a scholarly project
• Examples may include: clinical research, case report or paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, contribution to a book, health care quality improvement project, or other approved work
• Past resident research projects have included quality improvement related to interdisciplinary training for early mobilization post-stroke; collaboration with the MS Society related to a falls prevention program*; development of fitness recommendations for individuals with chronic spinal cord injury; analysis of spatiotemporal gait changes in individuals with multiple sclerosis*; development of a clinical decision-making algorithm for individuals with disorders of consciousness;* case reports, development of an algorithm for Post Covid-19 weakness.

  *Several projects have been presented at regional and national professional conferences

Sample Weekly Schedule

Schedule will vary based on clinical rotation and teaching assignments