Bellarmine University Geriatric Residency

Vision Statement

Create and sustain a geriatric residency program which develops and enhances the skills and abilities of the physical therapist to provide state of the art older adult rehabilitation to a diverse population which enables the therapist to help create a culture of patient centered clinical excellence, community service, research initiative and lifelong learning in the workplace.

The Bellarmine University Geriatric Residency is a patient-centered educational program providing advanced physical therapy clinical training and promoting the application of evidence-based knowledge and skills with emphasis on service and life-long learning. The environment has been created to produce leaders with advanced geriatric rehabilitation training who can make a lasting contribution to their local and professional communities. Through this program, residents and staff will educate, advocate, empower and improve the quality of life of our patients, their families, caregivers and our community. The program supports the mission of Bellarmine University by providing high quality health care and education to all those we serve in a manner that responds to the needs of our communities, honors our faith heritage and celebrates our values.

Our Goals

The Goals of the Bellarmine University Geriatric Residency are to:

1. Develop advanced practitioners in the field of geriatric physical therapy who meet the needs of patients and clients, their families, and society.
2. Train practitioners to be critical consumers of the literature in geriatric physical therapy which includes supporting clinical and basic sciences, and to apply the evidence in the development and implementation of patient treatment and education programs.
3. Mentor the resident’s teaching skills in all applicable areas.
4. Foster the clinical research and inquiry skills of the residents to meet the needs of evidence based practice in geriatric physical therapy.
5. Enhance the residents ability to apply advanced knowledge, skill and care in the examination and treatment of individuals with geriatric conditions.
6. Provide formative feedback and facilitate guided reflection for the geriatric physical therapy residents. 
7. Promote professionalism, community awareness and leadership roles in geriatric residents.
8. Improve the resident’s ability to provide continuing education for community leaders in the field of geriatric physical therapy, while fostering best practice habits, active participation in clinical research, and excellence in teaching skills.
9. Ensure consistent delivery of high quality patient education and clinical interventions throughout all clinical settings.

Residency Requirements

• Graduate from a CAPTE accredited Physical Therapy program.
• Current PT license to practice in state of the residency
• Submission of application form electronically through RF-PTCAS
• Minimum of 2 letters of recommendation (1 academic and 1 clinical)

Accreditation Status

Bellarmine University Geriatric Residency is accredited by the American Physical Therapy Association as a post-professional residency program for physical therapists in geriatrics.

Typical Residency Week

• Regular clinical schedule of predominantly older adult patients with mentoring blended into the week
• An average of 4 hours devoted to study of the residency curriculum outside of the clinic
• A block of time devoted to one-on-one learning with faculty and/or observational/experiential opportunities

Residency Highlights

• Residency faculty with extensive geriatric experience in multiple clinical settings
• Opportunity to interact with faculty of the Bellarmine University DPT program
• Able to schedule time in gross dissection lab
• Option to interact with Bellarmine University Neurology resident
• Input into the design of the educational content and delivery
• Possible to pursue adjunct teaching or guest lecturing in selected courses in the DPT program

Residency Outcomes

The Bellarmine Geriatric Residency, established and initially accredited in 2017 has an 80% completion rate to date (one voluntary withdrawal). Four residents have taken the ABPTS certification examination to date with three receiving official certification.

Contact Information

Julie Hartmann, PT, DSc.
Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy (GCS)
Director- Bellarmine University Geriatric Residency
Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
School of Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences
Bellarmine University NCAH #370
2001 Newburg Road
Louisville, KY 40205
W 502 272-8367
jhartmann@bellarmine.edu