Applicant needing some real guidance

[omgwtfbbq?]

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Hi Residents, I have a question about PM&R. I'm working on my 4th year schedule and facing what to do as a specialty. I have always had a special interest in musculoskeletal disorders (especially collagen spectrum problems) and want to find out some more about PM&R. I have also considered EM with a sports medicine fellowship afterwards, but am not interested in ortho surgery. I have not connected with any of my 3rd year clerkships and I also have one other concern... i am a very hard worker, but after a bad accident I have a lot of muscle and nerve pain that is made much, much worse by lack of sleep. I understand that residency is difficult, but need to find a residency that isn't going to kill me with call. I can move around enough to be quite active, as long as I can sit and take little breaks, so i'm not out of the game in that respect, but being able to live a life that isn't going to cause me excessive pain is very important to me, and important to my mindset, especially when dealing with patients

How realistic is PM&R for that kind of goal? What is the residency like? My school doesn't have a program, and so you are the only way I can learn about it. What do you like and what don't you like? What are the jobs like afterwards?

I hope to hear both the good and the bad. I feel like having a medical specialty that I connect to both intellectually and personally would be a boon.

Thanks, everybody

 

[PMR 4 MSK]

Hi Residents, I have a question about PM&R. I'm working on my 4th year schedule and facing what to do as a specialty. I have always had a special interest in musculoskeletal disorders (especially collagen spectrum problems) and want to find out some more about PM&R. I have also considered EM with a sports medicine fellowship afterwards, but am not interested in ortho surgery. I have not connected with any of my 3rd year clerkships and I also have one other concern... i am a very hard worker, but after a bad accident I have a lot of muscle and nerve pain that is made much, much worse by lack of sleep. I understand that residency is difficult, but need to find a residency that isn't going to kill me with call. I can move around enough to be quite active, as long as I can sit and take little breaks, so i'm not out of the game in that respect, but being able to live a life that isn't going to cause me excessive pain is very important to me, and important to my mindset, especially when dealing with patients

How realistic is PM&R for that kind of goal? What is the residency like? My school doesn't have a program, and so you are the only way I can learn about it. What do you like and what don't you like? What are the jobs like afterwards?

I hope to hear both the good and the bad. I feel like having a medical specialty that I connect to both intellectually and personally would be a boon.

Thanks, everybody

Welcome! You have found a new home! In fact, it sounds like an excellent match for your situation and goals.

PM&R would be very realistic for you, and assuming you are not a crazy chronic pain patient, but a sane one, you'll be able to relate to many of the patients very well.

PM&R is very lifestyle-conducive. Your hours after residency can be as much or as little as you want. Residency is not time-intensive compared with other specialties, and many of your med school rotations (surgery, e.g.) are likely more time-intensive.

You will need to find a PM&R rotation during your 4th year. Without one and w/o a LOR from a Physiatrist you have worked with your chances are greatly diminished. You will also want to do a rotation to see if that is what you want to do. Make sure you get exposed to the inpatient and outpatient aspects of PM&R.

 

[Ludicolo]

PM&R certainly sounds like it matches your intellectual interests. The residency and on-call demands are not that strenuous (depends on whether or not you’re a black cloud). You’ll have to endure a prelim year though, and internship is tough no matter where you go/what you do. I echo the above in getting early fourth year away PM&R rotations scheduled, gaining first hand experience, LORs, etc.

Good luck. We’re here to help.

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

Thanks so much for the responses guys, they're encouraging.
For the first poster, ha , no i'm not a crazy chronic pain patient, In fact i'm much much better than I used to be, able to walk around for general hospital errands without feeling like every step is misery (Which it used to be).
But i do know how the patients feel, so i hope that will be a step. I'm putting my schedule together now and there's a pmr rotation with a local outpatient group-- do you think that will do?

As for the prelim year, is it a medicine prelim or a transitional year? i'm just starting to learn the specifics.

 

[Ludicolo]

I'm putting my schedule together now and there's a pmr rotation with a local outpatient group-- do you think that will do?

It’s a start. In general, the more rehab experience you bring to interviews, the more competitive you’ll be.

As for the prelim year, is it a medicine prelim or a transitional year? i'm just starting to learn the specifics.

Either. Could also be prelim surgery, but I don’t think you’d like that.

Most PM&R programs are three years, starting at the PGY2 year (advanced), and thus require a prelim or transitional year. There are some four-year programs (categorical) where the prelim year is integrated into the curriculum. Might do some PM&R rotations during the first year, might not depending on the program. Some institutions offer both advanced and categorical options. Simple really.