Physical Therapy Residency

Matching: A Deal Maker or A Different Path?

Congratulations to all those matching at a residency in physical therapy.

Best of luck to those seeking a secondary match.

Whether you match at a residency in physical therapy, please make the most of this next year and every subsequent year.

A student showing you can succeed by watering and caring for a plant.

See, a career is not about matching in residency. A job has ups and downs. It must be nurtured and developed over time.

Some of the most brilliant people I am fortunate enough to know did not do a residency.

Some of the most brilliant people I am fortunate enough to know did a residency.

For both groups, it is not the residency. It is those people. They were going to succeed with or without a residency.

If You Matched at a Residency

Take advantage of this next year, learn as much as possible, and be a sponge.
Hang out with surgeons, primary care physicians, OTs, etc.
Focus on the process rather than the outcome. Develop a daily routine. Much of this will be scheduled for you, but you will have free time.
Learn new skills, especially ones outside of your comfort zone.
Read and learn to critically appraise literature in and out of your areas of interest.
Hang out and listen to those who think differently than you.
Have challenging conversations with them.
Listen to your mentors.
Have challenging conversations with them.
Learn what makes your mentors tick.
Be reflective.
- Ask yourself: Are you doing all that you can? Have you consistently followed the process? Will you be okay with waiting for the outcomes?
Stop comparing yourself to colleagues and friends. Be the best version of you.
Don’t have goals to achieve what they have versus goals to go about your day in a manner that they might.

If You Did Not Match at a Residency

Get past being mad and upset, whether it’s someone else’s “fault” or your “fault.” It is time to move on. Make yourself so attractive and valuable that they will regret not choosing you.

Take advantage of this next year, learn as much as possible, and be a sponge.
Hang out with surgeons, primary care physicians, OTs, etc.
Focus on the process rather than the outcome. Develop a daily routine. Much of this will be scheduled for you, but you will have free time.
Learn new skills, especially ones outside of your comfort zone.
Read and learn to critically appraise literature in and out of your areas of interest.

A person sitting on a stack of books and listening.

Hang out and listen to those who think differently than you.
Have challenging conversations with them.
Find and listen to your mentors.
Have challenging conversations with them.
Learn what makes your mentors tick.
Be reflective.
- Ask yourself: Are you doing all that you can? Have you consistently followed the process? Will you be okay with waiting for the outcomes?
Stop comparing yourself to colleagues and friends. Be the best version of you.
Don’t have goals to achieve what they have versus goals to go about your day in a manner that they might.

An image of a man navigating through his career.

Being a self-learner and utilizing intrinsic motivation significantly affected academic performance more than extrinsic motivation.¹

We All Have Our Path

Many others also “missed” opportunities and felt slighted about missing them. Some finally realized that the next 365 days would happen regardless of the sadness and feelings of being slighted.

Someone must be the next residency director, faculty lead, team ATC, team PT, team performance director, or whatever. Someone will take that position. Why not the person focused on process goals, self-reflective, and determined to be the best version of themselves?

How do you know who this person is? Their track record. They prove it over time.

Not everyone moves at the same pace. Discovery often takes a minute or two. Some people don’t do a fellowship until 8 years into their career, while others don’t get a teaching lead until 12 years into their career. Some don’t achieve a PhD until they are almost 50 years old. These people took time to refine their process. These people made many mistakes, but they eventually developed the ability to learn from them and use them as fuel to keep focus on the process. They were determined to prove their value—primarily to themselves—but others eventually noticed!

Reference

Wu, H, et al. Medical students’ motivation and academic performance: the mediating roles of self-efficacy and learning engagement. Med Educ Online. 25(1); 2020.