Kaiser Permanente Hayward PT Fellowship

Preview a typical training week for the Mentorship and Fellowship

Cervical lateral palpation

Typical Training Schedule for the Mentorship

The Mentorship is designed for busy working professionals. You’ll have the opportunity to continue working while advancing in the field through one on one mentoring and online clinical coursework. You’ll have online access to all of the outstanding curriculum materials developed over our 29 year history – an evidence based, dynamic curriculum from the oldest fellowship in the country.

Each week you’ll study lecture materials, view videotapes, critique current literature, and interact with faculty and classmates online to discuss case studies, assignments and advance your clinical reasoning.

You’ll come to Kaiser Union City (our administrative offices and classroom site) for laboratory sessions five times during the Mentorship to refine handling skills and clinical reasoning. You’ll be employed at Kaiser Permanente two days per week for a total of 16-20 hours and can continue your current employment while studying at Kaiser. For individuals moving from out of the area, you can apply to work for Kaiser Permanente where positions are open, a local hospital or private practice clinic or on-call registry. Individuals within a 2-hour travel distance of one of our training sites could travel to the Bay area for lab sessions and clinical practice at Kaiser.

What is a typical training week for the Mentorship?

After you are accepted into the program, you will participate in a 3-4 week pre-mentorship directed reading period (August) where you will review current literature in orthopedic manual therapy and anatomy and biomechanical concepts so that you have an adequate theoretical background for entering the program.

After the initial pre-mentorship directed reading period, you will study online (starting in September) for four weeks completing Mentorship online readings and assignments. On week five, you will begin your clinical practice at Kaiser Permanente two days a week for 16-20 hours. You’ll start 1:1 supervision with your mentor. Practitioners from all over the country come to our program for the opportunity to be mentored by our faculty members – some of the most experienced in the country!

At week seven you’ll come to Kaiser Union City for weekend (2-3 days) laboratory instruction to refine your handling skills and clinical reasoning. During the 25 week Mentorship program, you’ll come to Kaiser for 5 weekends, including at least one Monday. You’ll receive a total of 40 hours of one-on-one hours. You’ll also have the opportunity to receive 15 hours of small group tutorials and online discussions with faculty.

You’ll receive the equivalent of 135+ hours of online coursework, lab instruction and small group tutorials and 40 hours of one-on-one mentoring. At the end of the program you will have patient, technique and written exams.

What is the time investment?

Studying online course materials, completing assignments and practicing with classmates in your area will require about 7-9 hours per week of your time. Some classmates may decide to get together for additional practice sessions. The more time you are able to commit, the more you will gain from our extensive curriculum. The advantage of our new program format is that you will have more time to learn and integrate the material since the program is now 25 weeks long.

What are the expectations of me?

To gain the most from the Mentorship program, you’ll need to complete online course work and assignments on a timely basis and arrange to practice with classmates or other colleagues in the area so that you come prepared for the lab classes. We encourage you to plan your vacation and work schedule to be present at all of the lab sessions. If you miss a lab session we can arrange to have the session videotaped but this is not optimal for your learning.

Do I need to take the course work according to a defined curriculum schedule?

Yes, the course work is given like a university curriculum with assignments and readings each week. You’ll need to be ready to study and practice regularly throughout the Mentorship period. If you have unexpected commitments that prevent you from being online during a given week, you can do your assignments in advance as they will be posted on the website.

What’s the best type of work schedule to have while I am in the Mentorship?

The curriculum is designed for individuals who need to keep working full time - 3 days in their practice setting and 2 days with Kaiser. If you are able to drop your total work hours to 32-36 hours per week (including the Mentorship clinical practice at Kaiser) that will give you some ‘breathing’ room for additional study and lab practice. See Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Typical Training Week for the Advanced Fellowship

The Advanced Fellowship is taught in a full-time format that has existed for many years. You will attend manual therapy course work at Kaiser Union City 2-3 weekends per month, including most Mondays. You will be in clinical practice at one of our training sites three days per week for a total of 26 hours (Tues/Thurs/Fri). Throughout the program, you will have the opportunity to work with two mentors during each week for a total of 5-6 hours of mentoring per week. Small group tutorials with classmates and faculty will occur approximately every other week.

You will have the opportunity to practice handling skills and clinical reasoning with your classmates several hours per week – a unique opportunity that consolidates and advances your skills.

As part of our postgraduate program, you will be completing a range of case study analyses and review/critique of current literature, including a seminar paper which is presented to the community. At the completion of the program, you will design a culminating teaching project for the community or submit a paper for publication.

What type of person is best suited for the Advanced Fellowship?

The Advanced Fellowship is a challenging, dynamic, fast paced program designed for individuals who are ready to ‘submerge’ themselves in an intense learning environment with faculty and peers. It is for those individuals who are able to make a full-time commitment to post-graduate study and who seek to become clinical specialists, consultants, instructors – the leaders of our field!

Can I work during the Fellowship?

Most fellows plan their finances to minimize working so that they can focus on the curriculum. Occasional weekend work is possible to enhance your financial status.