Physical therapists..

[wadigga33]

Hi. I am a licensed physical therapist(Doctoral degree) in the US and will be an FMG and am thinking about doing PM&R. Do I stand a better chance of landing a spot based on my PT background? How do programs look at your background or is it still score related? I have spoken to different people within medicine and have gotten different answers, just curious to hear from the people within the field. Thank you!

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[Hemisphere]

as an fmg they might scrutinize your USMLE scores a little more to see how your training stacks up against US applicants, especially if they are not familiar with the medical school you went to. the ph.d. could only help, though, they look at the whole package.

why did you decide to go into pm&r/medicine instead of continuing PT?
gonna be asked again for sure when it counts, so might as well put a practice answer up here, and i'm curious too

 

[wadigga33]

Hey..thanks for the reply. PT was great but i felt i could accomplish so much more with medicine. I worked closely with orthopedic docs and physiatrists at the clinic i was at and felt that is what i really enjoyed. I enjoyed the pathology and all the other facets of medicine that i was missing or not really allowed to practice as a PT. thanks for the reply. what do you think of my answer?

 

[Hemisphere]

hey sounds great... keep the ideas flowing

 

[mehul_25]

I think you PT background will be very helpful in securing a strong residency position particularly due to its relevance to PM&R. As a fellow FMG, I can tell you that your scores will be scrutinized but your background will be a big plus.

I dont know if I would focus too much on the "doctoral degree" portion of your resume, instead I would discuss your motivation and the relevance of your clinical experience to your future in PM&R. Obviously, I am not suggesting omiting the DPT from your CV, but I wouldnt dwell on it in your personal statement or interviews. In my mind the DPT remain a bit controversial. Hope this helps.