Keller Army Community Hospital
West Point, New York

Program Director: LTC Jamie Morris, U.S. Army 

Through an affiliation with Baylor University, students enrolled in the Baylor University - Keller Army Community Hospital Sports Division 1 Fellowship at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, may qualify for a Doctor of Science in Physical Therapy degree in Orthopaedics, specializing in Sports Medicine. Fellows are commissioned officers in one of the four uniformed services: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Public Health Service. Due to active duty obligations and association with the uniformed services, certain policies and procedures governing residents are unique in this program and may be found in the most current Policy and Procedure Manual published by this graduate program.

The program has two primary purposes: to produce graduates with expertise in evidence-based primary care for examining, diagnosing, managing, and preventing a variety of complex orthopaedic and sports injuries, and to ensure competency in sports medicine research design, execution, analysis, and critical review. The Fellowship provides military physical therapists an opportunity to develop advanced competencies in triage and management of acute sports injuries while at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. Graduates will use these same competencies to return injured U.S. Service Members to a high level of military readiness. The concepts of returning injured athletes to play as quickly and safely as possible and returning injured service members to duty in garrison or combat, share the same goals, thereby preparing fellows for: “Sports Medicine on the Battlefield operational readiness through injury prevention and early intervention.”

Admission

Candidates for admission to the program must hold a master’s degree in physical therapy from a program accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education. They must have a minimum of four years of experience and be board-certified in orthopaedic or sports physical therapy upon entry into the program. The GRE General Test is required of all applicants, with a score predictive of success in this program. Candidates must also meet the entrance requirements of the Graduate School of Baylor University. Candidates are selected by a competitive board process by their respective uniformed service. All candidates must accept an active duty service obligation to remain on active duty after completion of the program.

Curriculum

The medical community nationwide recognizes the United States Military Academy at West Point as one of the forerunners in the surgical and rehabilitative management of athletic injuries. Experienced orthopedists, physical therapists, and athletic trainers currently work together to provide the best care possible to the cadet student-athletes. To this end, the curriculum focuses on an advanced clinical reasoning model with an emphasis on acute primary care management. The academic curriculum emphasizes anatomy, biomechanics, physiology, and athletic injury management, with a strong foundation in clinical research and critical literature review. The program was originally credentialed by the American Physical Therapy Association in June of 1999 and recently accredited as a Fellowship by the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education in 2015. The primary intent is to make the fellowship the leading institution in sports medicine research. The sixty semester-hour program is divided into four semesters. All Fellows are required to complete an individual research project, and submit the study for publication in an indexed peer-reviewed journal prior to graduation.

Curriculum

The medical community nationwide recognizes the United States Military Academy at West Point as one of the forerunners in the surgical and rehabilitative management of athletic injuries. Experienced orthopedists, physical therapists, and athletic trainers currently work together to provide the best care possible to the cadet student-athletes. To this end, the curriculum focuses on an advanced clinical reasoning model with an emphasis on acute primary care management. The academic curriculum emphasizes anatomy, biomechanics, physiology, and athletic injury management, with a strong foundation in clinical research and critical literature review. The program was originally credentialed by the American Physical Therapy Association in June of 1999 and recently accredited as a Fellowship by the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education in 2015. The primary intent is to make the fellowship the leading institution in sports medicine research. The sixty semester-hour program is divided into four semesters. All Fellows are required to complete an individual research project, and submit the study for publication in an indexed peer-reviewed journal prior to graduation.