Geriatric Physical Therapy Residency Program

The VAGLAHS offers a 12-month post-professional residency program in Geriatric Physical Therapy for licensed physical therapists.

VAGLAHS serves the largest number of Veterans above the age of 65 in the United States and is becoming a leader in age-friendly care. The program offers didactic instruction in advanced topics related to geriatrics, comprehensive mentorship during clinical training, and participation in several educational opportunities to help residents advance their development as a clinical specialist in geriatric physical therapy. Residents will learn to manage a geriatric caseload across multiple care settings including: acute, outpatient, and skilled nursing (community living center). While enrolled, the resident is considered a full-time employee of the VAGLAHS inclusive of salary and benefits.

Mission statement

To provide advanced education and high-quality mentorship in the area of geriatric physical therapy to physical therapists in order to develop them into clinical specialists dedicated to providing evidence-informed, patient-centered, and specialist-level of care to the aging Veterans that they serve.

Program Goals

To support the mission of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services department at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, by elevating the quality of Geriatric Physical Therapy, consistent with specialist behaviors.
To maintain ABPTRFE accreditation as a geriatric physical therapy residency program.
To graduate residents who can deliver high quality, evidence-informed, and comprehensive care for the aging Veteran
To prepare program graduates to pursue American Board of Physical Therapy Specialty certification as a Geriatric Clinical Specialist (GCS)
To maintain viability and sustainability as a geriatric physical therapy program within the Department of Veterans Affairs
To provide a high quality learning experience through comprehensive mentoring and educational opportunities

Curriculum

The program is centered on mentored clinical practice. Resident’s will receive 200+ hours of 1:1 mentoring as they lead patient encounters through three clinical settings: Acute Care, Community Living Center, and Outpatient.

The didactic curriculum includes courses in core geriatric knowledge areas offered through asynchronous learning on platforms including Medbridge Education, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Learning Center, Veteran Health Administration (VHA) Talent Management System, and VHA TRAIN Learning Network.

The curriculum is designed to ensure congruency between clinical and didactic components with repeated exposure and practice opportunities as well. The program observes and follows ABPTRFE Quality Standards requirements, such as residency program clinical hours of no less than 1,500 hours, 300 educational hours ,and 150 hours or more of 1:1 mentoring provided throughout the program.

Program Outcomes

Graduation Rate: Pending

ABPTS Board Exam Pass Rate: Pending

How To Apply

Admission Requirements

Must be a U.S. citizen
Either a licensed physical therapist within one of the 50 U.S. states -OR- a doctoral student from a CAPTE accredited physical therapy program who is eligible for licensure and graduates prior to commencement of the program. The applicant must obtain a state license during the first testing cycle following program initiation. Failure to pass the license examination will require the applicant to terminate the program
Able to comply with VAGLAHS employment requirements

Application Process

Interested applicants may submit the following requirements to the Program Director via email:

Official Physical Therapy School Transcripts
Letter of Intent
Curriculum Vitae or Resume
2 Professional Letters of Recommendation

Contact

For additional information or questions please contact:

Nikko Mendoza PT, DPT, GCS

Program Director

VA Greater Los Angeles health care

Email: nikko.mendoza@va.gov

Financial Fact Sheet

Note: The original ABPTRFE Financial Fact is a fillable document. However, that format does not comply with Section 508. Therefore, the format of the Financial Fact Sheet has been adapted on this website to make the content Section 508 Compliant under Federal Law. All content from the original document as published by ABPTRFE are upheld below.

For clarity, while this program does not provide payments towards student loans, this program is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligible site under the federal government.

The program will disclose any financial assistance provided to participants enrolling.

Type of Financial AssistanceTotal Assistance for the Entire ProgramNotes/Examples

Salary Paid by Program (if applicable)$63,051.00Stipends or salaries provided directly by the program.

Percentage Salary to a Comparable PT62.00%Indicate the percentage of the above salary relative to that of a comparable physical therapist at the organization.

Student Financial Aid$0For tuition-based programs only; include grants, loans, or other aid.

Graduate Assistantships$0Assistantships providing financial support in exchange for work or teaching.

Other Assistantships$0Assistantships providing financial support in exchange for work or teaching

Scholarships$0Merit-based or need-based scholarships.

Travel Costs/Stipends$0Reimbursement or stipends for travel related to program requirements.

Malpractice Insurance$0Insurance coverage provided by program.

ABPTS Board-Certification Examination Fees$0Fees covered by program or offered as assistance for board exams.

Other Financial Assistance$0Any additional financial support not listed above.

Total Financial Assistance$63,051Sum of all rows above

Type of CostTotal Cost for the Entire ProgramNotes/Examples

Fees$0Any fees. Include: CPR, EMR, APTA dues, Section/Academy dues, other professional memberships, or other program fees.

Tuition (if applicable)$0Any tuition amounts.

Curriculum Costs (not included in tuition)$0Lab materials, simulation fees, or other required coursework costs.

Required Textbooks, Software, Apps$0Costs not included in fees or tuition.

Application Fees$0Program-assessed fees beyond RF-PTCAS.

Conference Registration Fees$0Required conferences not included in fees above.

Travel Costs$0Travel for program-required activities or conferences, not included in fees above.

Parking/Mass Transit Fees$0Transportation related to program participation, not included in fees above.

Mentoring Fees$0Mentoring fees, if applicable and not included in program fees above.

Malpractice Insurance$0Required liability coverage for residents/fellows, if not included in program fees or provided by the program

Other Program Costs$0Any additional costs not captured above.

Total Program Costs$0Sum of all rows above