I think that you'll have a huge advantage as a PT in PM&R---being a DO will help too
Ewanger makes some good points about competition, but I think that the field is putting more effort into increasingly public awareness among patients and PCP about what physiatrists do. This is also the Bone&Joint decade! As long as we prevent organized PT from independent practice privileges, PM&R will remain intact.
PM&R docs are widely recognized as *THE* specialists for SCI and are also doing well to create a name for themselves in TBI and Stroke (the bread&butter of rehab). Things on the inpatient side are moving towards specialist driven "disease management" programs. The orthopods don't want to bother with rehab since being in the OR is more lucrative, and the neuro's just don't have the musculoskeletal background to be good rehab docs...curiously though there are fellowships on the neurology side in "neurorehabilitation." I'm not sure how this differs from PM&R exactly. Maybe this fellowship is for neurologists who wish they had gone the PM&R route. That leaves things pretty open for PM&R docs.
On the outpatient side, there's talk that the federal government is on the cusp of designating physiatrists as "preferred providers" for all occupational medicine related injuries. If this happens it will be a huge boon to the field as most HMO's and insurance companies follow guidelines set by the feds. Frankly, the field is just beginning to catch-up with the outpatient side of PM&R. Most successful PM&R docs are doing well in outpatient settings, but have largely developed outpatient skills on their own--injections, blocks, flouro-guided stuff, etc. The bulk of PM&R training is still inpatient-based which is great if want to do stroke, TBI, or SCI, but lacking if you want to do occ med, sports med, and pain. And don't forget OMT; I know more than a few PM&R DO's who have told me that OMT is great practice builder.
Just some thoughts...
[This message has been edited by drusso (edited 02-14-2001).]
