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Sports Physical Therapy Residency Program


Two Sports Venue Coverage Options

Sports residents have two sports venue coverage tracks.

Option one — college and pro sports training rooms:

  • You'll spend one academic year in the athletic training room at Carnegie Mellon University with a sports residency faculty member. You'll treat any athlete who needs post-operative PT.
  • During the second half of the program, you'll spend at least 10 hours/week in the Pittsburgh Steelers Football Club's training room.

Option two — youth athlete sidelines and training rooms:

  • You will spend time in the local high school athletic training room and provide sideline coverage at sporting events.
  • You'll have exposure to and gain experience in treating athletes over a wide spectrum of high school sports.

Typical weekly schedule for sports PT residents

  • Clinical practice: MW 5:00-8:00 p.m., TR 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
  • Mentoring: 2 to 3-hour time blocks on Friday mornings.
  • Orthopaedics Sports Conference: W 6:00-7:00 a.m.
  • Physical Therapy Grand Rounds: F Noon-1:00 p.m.
  • Teaching assistance (Pitt DPT musculoskeletal program): MW 1:00-5:00 p.m.
  • Carnegie Mellon: MD clinic Monday 9:00-11 a.m.
  • Training room TR: 3:30 - 6:30 p.m.
  • Didactic sports residency modules: Fridays, most often from 1:00-5:00 p.m.
  • Other activities (vary by week): resident journal club, complex patient conference.

The curriculum for our Sports Residency Program offers many learning opportunities.

Residents will spend about 30 hours of weekly clinical care at the UPMC Rooney Center for Sports Medicine on Pittsburgh's south side, where UPMC Centers for Rehab Services is the physical therapy provider.

Training will include:

  • Weekly mentoring with our sports and orthopaedic PT residency faculty (around 3 hours/week).
  • Weekly Sports Conference — The University of Pittsburgh Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
  • Weekly Grand Rounds presentations — The Pitt Department of Physical Therapy (DPT).
  • Monthly journal clubs and "Mortality and Morbidity" conferences.

You'll also assist teaching the entry-level DPT program's musculoskeletal class series at Pitt.

Our residency program faculty teach weekly didactic courses on:

  • Managing disorders of the spine, foot and ankle, knee, shoulder, and hip.
  • Exertional concussion management.
  • Running analysis.


Erica Coffey, PT, MS, SCS
Program Director
Centers for Rehab Services — UPMC Rooney Sports Medicine Complex
baumeb@upmc.edu

Core faculty:

  • Erica Coffey, PT, MS, SCS
  • Shane Conley, PT, DPT,OCS
  • Ashley DeSantis, PT, DPT, OCS
  • Erin Dufort, PT, DPT, OCS
  • Keelan Enseki, PT, MS, OCS, SCS, ATC
  • Pat Garvey, PT, FAAOMPT
  • Tara Ridge Hankin, PT, MS Vice Chair and Assistant Professor University of Pittsburgh
  • Danielle Hildebrand, PT, OCS, SCS
  • Rick Joreitz, PT, DPT, SCS, ATC
  • Mike Kopako, PT, OCS
  • Sarah Ostop, PT, DPT, SCS, ATC
  • Adam Popchak, PT, Ph.D., SCS
  • Kirsten Popchak, PT, SCS
  • Juliane Russell, PT, DPT, OCS, PSP
  • David Spaeder, PT, DPT, OCS
  • Cara Troutman-Enseki, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS

Application Process, Dates, and Contacts

  • Deadline to apply: Early December
  • Interviews for qualified applicants: Early February
  • Start date: Early August
  • Tuition: $7,500

To learn more, email Erica Coffey, PT, MS, SCS — Sports PT Residency Program Director.

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