Desiring a physician scientist career (80:20 :: research:clinical). Torn between PM&R vs Neuro

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Hello,
I came back to medschool after a doctorate in engineering to pursue a passion working with and rehabilitating severely disabled patients (congenital and/or post trauma) and to do research in the same area. I am torn between PM&R and Neurology at this time. I still want a career withs an 80:20:: research:clinical model in an academic setting. My engineering background seems to lend itself very well to both these fields.
My Step 1 score is in the 220s, and I am lucky enough to be published in the field.
Going through Clerkships (and other types of exposure at my school here), I have noticed that I really love working with patients of all background (especially kids). I have gotten along well with residents and attending physicians in pretty much every area so far and can see myself being happy in all of their shoes.

While I have met a couple of Neurology physician scientists and received input from them, I am yet to meet a PM&R physician scientist. It seems like both these fields will see significant advances over my career because of research money pouring into them.
Would any PM&R Physician/resident scientists here share their experience about their career and also give me pointers on what to look for over these next two crucial years to make my decision? I am especially interested in flexibility of geographical location after residency, trends in institutional support for a PM&R physician scientist and source of research funding diversity you have been able to tap into (such as NIH , VA, DoD, Industry etc) I thank you for your time in advance!

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Hello,
I came back to medschool after a doctorate in engineering to pursue a passion working with and rehabilitating severely disabled patients (congenital and/or post trauma) and to do research in the same area. I am torn between PM&R and Neurology at this time. I still want a career withs an 80:20:: research:clinical model in an academic setting. My engineering background seems to lend itself very well to both these fields.
My Step 1 score is in the 220s, and I am lucky enough to be published in the field.
Going through Clerkships (and other types of exposure at my school here), I have noticed that I really love working with patients of all background (especially kids). I have gotten along well with residents and attending physicians in pretty much every area so far and can see myself being happy in all of their shoes.

While I have met a couple of Neurology physician scientists and received input from them, I am yet to meet a PM&R physician scientist. It seems like both these fields will see significant advances over my career because of research money pouring into them.
Would any PM&R Physician/resident scientists here share their experience about their career and also give me pointers on what to look for over these next two crucial years to make my decision? I am especially interested in flexibility of geographical location after residency, trends in institutional support for a PM&R physician scientist and source of research funding diversity you have been able to tap into (such as NIH , VA, DoD, Industry etc) I thank you for your time in advance!
If things change and you are forced to do 100% clinical, which would you do?

The easiest way to get VA funding is to get a job as a FT clinician and then submit a grant proposal. If accepted, the VA Office of Research will reimburse your local facility for a portion of your time, which you then spend on your project. In your grant, you might ask for 25% of your time or 100% of your time, etc.
 
Welcome to the forum. I too want to be a physician-scientist dealing with PM&R-related issues. While it is true that the field does not have as many physician-scientists as other fields like IM or Neurology, there are some. You might check out this RMSTP program (can't post link. Search on google).

I think PM&R is a growth area for people who do disease-oriented research, and thus far, most of the physiatrists I've spoken to seem eager to have more physician researchers among their ranks.
 
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If things change and you are forced to do 100% clinical, which would you do?

The easiest way to get VA funding is to get a job as a FT clinician and then submit a grant proposal. If accepted, the VA Office of Research will reimburse your local facility for a portion of your time, which you then spend on your project. In your grant, you might ask for 25% of your time or 100% of your time, etc.

Thanks! would it be fair to say then that the most flexibility I will have is if I look for a clinical position and buy back time through such grants then?


Welcome to the forum. I too want to be a physician-scientist dealing with PM&R-related issues. While it is true that the field does not have as many physician-scientists as other fields like IM or Neurology, there are some. You might check out this RMSTP program (can't post link. Search on google).

I think PM&R is a growth area for people who do disease-oriented research, and thus far, most of the physiatrists I've spoken to seem eager to have more physician researchers among their ranks.

Thank you! That is very helpful. I will reach out to someone on there. Yes my focus is on disease-oriented research because I feel like my skills will be put to most effective use there. It is good to know that the field is also interested in hiring physician researchers in general!
 
I would be sure you entered a specialty that you’d be happy doing without the research. While I think that that it’s good to have those types of goals, those types of academic jobs aren’t always available and I’d assume that they could be competitive.
 
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