For those interested in residency and fellowships, performing research as a PT, or how we got our start with our books.  Check out the latest article from the Columbus Orthopedic Therapy Group, where Paul Tadak asked me to answer a few questions.

FEATURED PHYSICAL THERAPIST OF THE MONTH
(Columbus Orthopedic Therapy Group)

Dr. Cody James Mansfield is our featured physical therapist of the month!

Cody is a physical therapist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center-Sports Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists, Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist, and an ATC. Cody is the president of Fast Twitch Press and has authored 3 books on how to pass the OCS and SCS exams. He has also published articles in JMMT and IJSPT.

Cody has taken the time to answer a few questions below regarding the residencies and fellowships, research, authoring books, starting his own company, and his favorite coffee.

Cody, you have completed both the orthopedic residency and the OMPT Fellowship programs, how would you describe the difference between the 2 programs? Would you recommend both programs and why?

• Every program is different, and you have to pick and choose a program based on what you’re looking for in your career.
• I chose the Ohio State University (OSU) Sports Med Orthopaedic residency because it was a triple threat: (1) Research (2) Mentorship (3) Teaching.
• My research project involved working with a PT PhD, two radiologists, and two hip surgeons and resulted in presentations at the Ohio PT Scientific Symposium and at the Combined Sections Meeting.
• I helped teach the MSK lab in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at OSU. I received quality mentoring from highly skilled clinicians that had a variety of expertise and niche practices and had achieved their OCS.
• To find out more about our residencies at OSU follow this link: https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/…/residencies/orthopedic-phys…
• The OMPT Fellowship afforded me mentorship from master clinicians with over 10 years of experience, and both had their OCS and FAAOMPT credentials. The program didn’t just emphasize manual therapy techniques, but rather advanced orthopedics. My mentors cultivated my clinical reasoning and helped foster my skills when it came to the implementation of pain science to patients with complicated spine pain. The fellowship also lead to more opportunities for me professionally afterwards.
• In clinic, I sat between both my mentors at all time throughout the fellowship, which was beneficial because I got to know them better, and we had great discussions outside of patient care which advanced my thinking.
• I chose the Fellowship because I wanted to improve by ability to treat complicated spine cases, and the organization AAOMPT has had a profound effect on my career both in PT school and afterwards. It was my goal to become a Fellow of AAOMPT.
• https://aaompt.org
• Find out more about our fellowship by following this link: https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/…/orthopaedic-manual-physical…

You have been published a number of times and have a passion for doing research. What would you recommend to a physical therapist seeking to go down the research path without a Phd?

• It’s not easy for physical therapists to participate in research, and often times requires a significant effort outside of your 40 hour a week clinic time.
• I’m fortunate to work at an Academic Hospital where clinicians can interact with researchers, and help with ongoing randomized control trials or prospective studies.
• Some clinicians at OSU actually have protected time from the clinic to help with research projects.
• Also, there are several types of projects that clinicians can initiate without having a PhD, such as a case report (often required by many residencies and fellowships), case series (requires IRB approval, but can be done in clinic), systematic reviews (requires a minimum of 3 authors), and clinical commentaries.
• APTA has some excellent resources to help clinicians publish a case reports: http://www.apta.org/crmanual/

Cody, you also have started your own publishing company and co-authored 3 books that are study guides for the OCS and SCS. Can you tell us what inspired you to do this? Can you tell us a little more about the books and how it can help a clinician study for the OCS or SCS?
• After my wife and I took the OCS exam we realized that there weren’t a lot of study materials available to PTs looking to take specialty exams.
• Both of us completed residencies and were under a lot of pressure to pass the OCS exam the first time.
• At OSU, both ortho and sports residencies boast a 100% pass rate for all residents, and I didn’t want to be the first one to tarnish the record.
• We created these books to be helpful to PTs like us that had a lot of pressure to pass these exams.
• More information about the books can be found on www.FastTwitchPress.com
• Or on Twitter: @MansfieldCody
• Our first book, PT Ortho Questions, focuses on the spine with over 200 practice questions.
• Our second book, PT Sports Questions, written by my former co-sports resident, has a 100 specific SCS practice questions.
• Our latest release, PT Ortho & Sports Questions Vol. II, focuses on the joints and extremities, has practice questions and review sections, and is meant to complement our other OCS/SCS books.
• If you’re taking the OCS we recommend reading PT Ortho Questions and PT Ortho & Sports Questions Vol. II.
• And if you’re taking the SCS, we recommend reading PT Sports Questions and PT Ortho & Sports Questions Vol. II.
• The overall mission of the books is to help PTs pass the test without breaking the bank.
• The books can be view on Amazon:

i. https://www.amazon.com/PT-Ortho-Questions-wit…/…/ref=sr_1_1…

ii. https://www.amazon.com/PT-Sports-Questio…/…/ref=pd_sim_14_3…

iii. https://www.amazon.com/PT-Ortho-Sports-Q…/…/ref=pd_sim_14_1…

It is known you are a connoisseur of coffee, what is your favorite coffee and your preferred style of brewing?

• Pour over coffee is my favorite. I also like to use the AeroPress.
• I love to buy beans from Intelligentsia, a coffee roaster based in Chicago, or locally from Stauf’s.
• I usually like beans from Central American and prefer a medium to light roast.