Women’s Health Residency
UCF Physical Therapy
Overview
The University of Central Florida (UCF) and Orlando Health (OH) Women’s Health Residency Program enables physical therapists to advance their knowledge and develop their clinical skills in the area of women’s health physical therapy. Established in 2024, the program offers an innovative design split between a specialty women’s hospital acute care setting and outpatient rehabilitation services. In addition to extensive training in pelvic and obstetric physical therapy, the program offers training in pelvic and breast oncology, lymphedema, and women’s neuromusculoskeletal health across the lifespan, with opportunities for community involvement and research.
The mission of the UCF and OH Women’s Health Physical Therapy Residency is to prepare residents for advanced clinical practice of their specialty field of physical therapy as a clinical specialist committed to optimizing patient care in the current healthcare environment and improving the quality of life of individuals in the community. Graduates of the residency program will demonstrate excellence in clinical practice, improvement in quality of care, increased knowledge in foundational science and management of patients, application of evidence-based practice, involvement in community service, pursuit of lifelong learning through involvement in education of future physical therapists and participation in clinical research.
Program Goals
- Strengthen the healthcare community by creating positive experiences and providing highly effective care for patients with women’s health issues and diagnoses as defined by the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice (2001).
- Train highly qualified clinicians ready to achieve board certification in women’s health physical therapy by implementing a curriculum that meets the requirements for women’s health certified specialist certification by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties.
- Develop clinical decision-making skills through consistent supervision and advance women’s health physical therapy practice by integrating evidence-based practice and foundational science.
- Promote inclusiveness and foster involvement in the community by providing residents with the skills needed to become a resource for patients with chronic diagnoses.
- Demonstrate commitment to lifelong learning by preparing residents to become competent educators and mentors for patients, colleagues and physical therapy students.
- Contribute to the expansion of the body of knowledge in women’s health physical therapy and advance the skills of residents as clinical scholars by participating in clinical research.
Program Objectives
- The residency program will offer residents direct patient care experiences of women’s health practice patterns through direct patient evaluation and treatment as well as observation in specialty clinics.
- The residency program will provide residents with clinical mentoring across the continuum of care in women’s health rehabilitation from acute care and outpatient rehabilitation.
- The residency program will provide residents with skilled supervision in specialty programs including pregnancy and postpartum, pelvic pain, incontinence, the female athlete, and neurologic specialty areas of Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
- The residency program will provide residents with shadowing experiences in physician specialty clinics including clinics that specialize in urogynecology, osteoporosis, lymphedema, breast and pelvic oncology, and endometriosis.
- The program’s curriculum, which include didactic and clinical components, will acknowledge all aspect of the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) Women’s Health Physical Therapy’s Description of Specialty Practice and the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE) Women’s Health Physical Therapy’s Description of Residency Practice (DRP, 2021).
- The residency program will provide residents the opportunities to present lectures to local support groups as a form of community service to promote social responsibility.
Highlights
The 12-month residency program includes an R1 doctoral university, a specialty women’s acute care hospital, and a comprehensive specialty outpatient rehabilitation clinic.
- Earn salary with benefits.
- Nationally recognized, award-winning faculty
Current Residents
Laura Arboleda
Laura Arboleda earned a bachelor’s in health sciences from UCF and her DPT at the University of St. Augustine. She’s been a physical therapist for almost five years, serving primarily in outpatient orthopedic practices.
Melinda Honore
Melinda Honore is a graduate of Florida A&M University where she earned a bachelor’s in health science and earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2024.
Clinical Experience
Acute Care: Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies (Two, 3-month clinical rotations)
- Dedicated exclusively to the unique healthcare needs of women and babies
- Labor and Delivery, high-risk maternity unit, minimally invasive surgery, urogynecology, gynecologic and breast oncology
- Nationally ranked top teaching hospital by the LeapFrog Group
Outpatient Rehabilitation: Orlando Health Advanced Rehabilitation Institute Outpatient Center
- Two, 3-month clinical rotations
- Specialty focused outpatient women’s and pelvic health rehabilitation clinic with focus on incontinence, pelvic pain, all stages of pregnancy and postpartum
- Observations in lymphedema, pediatric pelvic health, neurologic specialties
Didactic Experience
The didactic portion of the residency includes a variety of coursework from the Academy of Pelvic Physical Therapy, UCF, and other virtual coursework.
- Carnegie Foundation Classification of Institutions of Higher Education: Very High Research Activity and Community Engagement.
- Department of Education: Hispanic Serving Institution
The resident will be enrolled for a total of two credit hours per semester. The curriculum is based upon the following:
- Description of Residency Practice (DRP) published by the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education
Research
The resident is expected to complete a women’s health-based research capstone project at the end of the residency program. The resident will work with a research advisor and a women’s health content expert throughout the residency. The resident will have the opportunity to participate in other ongoing UCF Division of Physical Therapy program research activities, including data collection with current Orlando Health research projects.
Teaching
The resident will have a special opportunity to participate in teaching basic and advanced women’s health physical therapy courses in the UCF Doctor of Physical Therapy program. The resident will be mentored by course instructors in preparing an instructional plan to teach several modules related to their current clinical work experience at Orlando Health.
Professional Service and Community Engagement
Each semester, the residents are required to participate in professional service, community engagement and service-learning opportunities that involve different activities involving women’s health clients and support groups in the greater Orlando area. Residents are encouraged to present in state level presentations, be active in professional organizations and community service.
Application
Eligibility
- All applicants to the residency program are required to have successfully graduated from a CAPTE accredited physical therapy program.
- All applicants to the residency program must have a current license in the state of Florida or be scheduled to take the board examination
- All applicants are required to complete and pass the Florida Laws and Rules Examination.
- All applicants are required to have two letters of reference that should discuss their clinical skills as a physical therapist, one of which must come from a current rehabilitation director or a clinical instructor (for new graduates).
Resident Selection
A Residency Admissions Committee will select residents based on the recognized criteria. An interview with the Residency Admissions Committee is required for all candidates. Interviews are conducted on a “first come, first serve” basis.
Faculty
Our residency faculty include expert physical therapists who hold advanced certifications such as: Board Certified Women’s Health Clinical Specialist, Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy, and Certificate of achievement in Pregnancy and Postpartum Physical Therapy. They have presented at state and national level conferences on women’s health and conduct research in this specialized area.
Christine Davidson, PT, DPT, MBA, NCS
Dr. Davidson is a clinical faculty for the UCF-Orlando Health Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency Program and Program Director for the Women’s Health Physical Therapy residency program. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2007 and received her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at University of Florida in 2010. She received her board certification in neurologic physical therapy in 2015. Her subspecialties include stroke and brain injury rehabilitation. Christine is a certified clinical instructor by the American Physical Therapy Association. She currently works at Orlando Health in the Ambulatory & Post Acute Services division where she oversees all ambulatory specialty rehabilitation as a senior director of operations. She has been awarded the Outstanding PT/PTA Team Award both by the American Physical Therapy Association and the Florida Physical Therapy Association.
Alexia Deshommes, PT, DPT, WCS
Dr. Deshommes is a Board-Certified Women’s Health Clinical Specialist by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties and has earned a certification in pregnancy and postpartum athleticism. She received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Florida A&M University and graduated from the Women’s Health Physical Therapy Residency Program at Brooks Rehabilitation. She is a pelvic health physical therapist at Orlando Health Advanced Rehabilitation Institute Outpatient Center.
Laura Lima, PT, DPT, CAPP-OB
Dr. Lima is the rehab clinical specialist for pelvic health at Orlando Health Advanced Rehabilitation Institute Outpatient Center. She earned the Certificate of Achievement in Obstetric Physical Therapy from the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy. She received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Duke University. Her areas of interest include dyspareunia, pelvic pain, endometriosis, and adenomyosis.
Beth Northrop, PT, DPT, WCS
Dr. Northrop is the Program Coordinator for the UCF-Orlando Health Women’s Health Physical Therapy Residency Program. She is a Board-Certified Women’s Health Clinical Specialist by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. She received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Russell Sage College and graduated from the Women’s Health Physical Therapy Residency Program at Brooks Rehabilitation. She currently practices in acute care as the rehab clinical specialist for women’s rehabilitation at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, and has previous experience in outpatient pelvic and obstetric physical therapy. She is on the faculty for the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy. She spent two terms on the CAPP-OB Committee, during which they received the President’s Award from the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy. She has also served on the CPG Knowledge Transfer Sub-Committee and the Women’s Health Specialization Academy of Content Experts. She has been recognized with the Distinguished Mentor Award from the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy. She has presented at national conferences on pelvic and maternal health, and has published in peer-reviewed journals.
Carey Rothschild, PT, DPT, SCS, OCS, CAPP-Pelvic
Carey Rothschild is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at the University of Central Florida. She received her Bachelor of Health Science degree from the University of Florida in 1999. She went on to earn her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2005 from Boston University. She is board-certified in both Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy and holds a Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy. Her 25+ years of clinical practice has been in the areas of orthopedics and sports medicine. Her research interests include management of running injuries, conditions of the female athlete, pain education, and menopause. She currently serves on the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. In 2022, she was awarded the James A. Gould Excellence in Teaching Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Award from the APTA Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy.
