Bellin College Orthopaedic and Manual Physical Therapy Fellowship transitioning to accreditation by AAOMPT

The Bellin College OMPT Fellowship program will be switching accrediting agencies from the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE) to the American Academy of Orthopaedic and Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT) starting in January 2020. Bellin College is joining several other OMPT Fellowships in this endeavor.

The reasons for this include:

1. As of Jan. 1, 2020, ABPTRFE will implement a policy requiring residency completion and/or OCS acquisition prior to being admitted to Fellowship. We believe this will inhibit enrollment of well- qualified applicants who have not completed these requirements. By switching to the Accreditation Council on Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy Education (ACOMPTE) through AAOMPT, applicants will continue to be considered for admission based on relevant clinical experience and clinical skills within a particular specialty area.
2. As of Jan. 1, 2020, ABPTRFE will allow mentorship to be provided by physical therapists who are not FAAOMPTs. This standard threatens the rigor and quality of the vital mentorship occurring within OMPT fellowship programs and goes against the quality standards set forth by Bellin College’s OMPT program and IFOMPT/AAOMPT. Furthermore, ABPTRFE will allow 75 hours of live, in-person mentorship vs. the 150 set forth by IFOMPT as the standard.
3. ABPTRFE continues to place costly, time-consuming, and nonvalued administrative burden on fellowship programs for approval of mentorship sites. We believe that this should be the responsibility of the program director and that approval of mentors vs. sites is more important. While they have engaged in dialogue regarding these concerns, no changes in policy have occurred.

AAOMPT is a member of the International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists (IFOMPT). By successfully completing an AAOMPT-accredited program, students will meet all standards set for by AAOMPT and IFOMPT, which will qualify them to be declared as Fellows of the American Academy of Orthopaedic and Manual Physical Therapists (FAAOMPT).

Our OMPT Program at Bellin College is thankful for the support AAOMPT has provided for programs looking to take an alternative accreditation path besides ABPTRFE.