The mission of the Massachusetts General Hospital / Northeastern University Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences Sports Physical Therapy Residency Program is to advance the knowledge and clinical competency of sports physical therapists as well as to foster a culture of continued learning and scientific inquiry while demonstrating a commitment to patients, students and athletes at all levels.
The mission is achieved through academic, research and clinical collaboration promoting robust learning experiences and a unique opportunity to be an integral part of an interprofessional health care system working with recreational, high school, collegiate and professional athletes.
Year Accredited: 2015, 2020
Number of graduates: 15
Graduation Rate: 100%
SCS Exam Pass Rate: 93%
American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education — ABPTRFE
The mentoring will occur throughout the entire thirteen month experience. There will be two 120 minutes unopposed mentoring sessions scheduled with the Residency Director each week. During these sessions the resident provides care and the Residency Director observes the resident’s patient care and provides mentoring to the resident. There will be thirty minutes pre and post patient encounter along with the thirty to sixty minutes for the patient encounter itself. In addition to the time that is scheduled each week with the Residency Director there will be ongoing opportunities for mentoring and discussion during athletic venue experiences with other program faculty.
Residents utilize a variety of experiential learning opportunities to further develop clinical reasoning skills within sports physical therapy including simulation learning and learning assessment activities. Through simulation learning students are able to actively engage in patient management of acute sports related injuries and examine and refine their expertise.
The resident will have the opportunity to instruct in the DPT program at Northeastern University. They will be a lab teaching assistant in the Musculoskeletal Management courses with the Residency Director who will provide ongoing mentoring to promote professional development as an educator. The resident will be expected to review and prepare for the material being covered in each lab session which will coordinate much of the didactic curriculum embedded in the residency. The resident will be involved with presenting information to the students, assisting with providing feedback to students on technique, promoting high level clinical decision making during case discussions as well as providing feedback specific to performance on written and practical examinations.
Sarah Katz
PT, DPT, M.Ed, CSCS
Dr. Sarah Katz grew up in Richmond, VA where she was a multi-sport athlete but eventually focused her athletic career on running. She attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA for her undergraduate degree, competing as a Division I Track and Field sprinter and majoring in Kinesiology with a Psychology minor. Her passion for sports and wellness developed throughout her athletic career while dealing with multiple injuries of her own. After undergrad, she went on to the University of Virginia to earn a Master’s in Exercise Physiology in 2018. She furthered her graduate education at Virginia Commonwealth University, earning her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2021.
During her graduate studies, Sarah gained experience working with athletes in the athletic training room at UVA as a graduate intern, working as a personal trainer and track coach, and through several sports medicine clinical experiences in Physical Therapy school. Throughout her graduate education, she developed a passion for treating athletes, particularly at the collegiate and professional level. Currently, Sarah has interests in running related injuries, lower extremity injuries, and manual therapy techniques.
Rachel Divas
PT, DPT
Dr. Rachel Divas grew up in Exton, Pennsylvania where she was a competitive year-round swimmer. Through participation in swimming and a variety of other recreational sports, she sparked a strong interest in pursuing a career in sports medicine. From here, Rachel attended the University of Pittsburgh for her undergraduate degree, earning a Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Science and a certificate in Pathokinesiology in Rehabilitation. She then went on to receive her Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of Pittsburgh.
During her final year of study at Pitt, she completed an internship with the University of Pittsburgh’s men’s football team. Working in a collegiate level athletic training room gave her the opportunity to become a part of a multidisciplinary sports medicine team, providing care for high level athletes both on and off the field. When she wasn’t spending time in the clinic, Rachel enjoyed volunteering for a student run adaptive training program for athletes with disabilities. She also worked for the Physical Therapy department as a teaching assistant for both undergraduate and graduate level courses. Through Rachel’s clinical, volunteer, and work experience she has developed a passion for teaching as well as treating a wide variety of high-level and recreational athletes. Her specific clinical interests are in return to sport following upper extremity injury and overuse injuries as well as integrating rehabilitation with sports performance and strength and conditioning.