Exercise Science

[judgehopkins]

I am currently a Graduate Student in Exercise Physiology and will have my master's degree in june. I will be starting medical school in July.

I am currently very interested in PM&R and would like to know if there is anyone out there who a degree in ex sci/ex phys who practices pm&r.

I would also like to know how congruent pm&r is with my training in physiology and would like to know how much opportunity there would be to use my degree in the field of PM&R.

Any information that any of you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

also any additional information that you could provide concerning how good of a fit exercise physiology and PM&R would be, is greatly appreciated.

Thank You

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[Camber314]

Judge:

I have a master's degree, and feel it serves me well in PM&R. The anatomy background is quite helpful, particularly from a kinesiology/biomechanics standpoint, which you don't get from the static study of anatomic structures. Most of the time, in PM&R you are concerned with functional anatomy, so you have an advantage out of the gate when looking at patients with gait analysis, understanding spine movements, etc. In addition, there are some great sports med applications in PM&R, and your training is perfectly suited for working with these populations.

I also ran into a few others with like backgrounds back when I was interviewing, and one of my current residency peers has an undergrad in ex phys.

In summary, I think your training is a great fit in PM&R. Good luck in med school, and don't decide your specialty too soon - keep your eyes and options open!

wes

I am currently a Graduate Student in Exercise Physiology and will have my master's degree in june. I will be starting medical school in July.

I am currently very interested in PM&R and would like to know if there is anyone out there who a degree in ex sci/ex phys who practices pm&r.

I would also like to know how congruent pm&r is with my training in physiology and would like to know how much opportunity there would be to use my degree in the field of PM&R.

Any information that any of you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

also any additional information that you could provide concerning how good of a fit exercise physiology and PM&R would be, is greatly appreciated.

Thank You

 

[bbbmd]

Judge:

I have a master's degree, and feel it serves me well in PM&R. The anatomy background is quite helpful, particularly from a kinesiology/biomechanics standpoint, which you don't get from the static study of anatomic structures. Most of the time, in PM&R you are concerned with functional anatomy, so you have an advantage out of the gate when looking at patients with gait analysis, understanding spine movements, etc. In addition, there are some great sports med applications in PM&R, and your training is perfectly suited for working with these populations.

I also ran into a few others with like backgrounds back when I was interviewing, and one of my current residency peers has an undergrad in ex phys.

In summary, I think your training is a great fit in PM&R. Good luck in med school, and don't decide your specialty too soon - keep your eyes and options open!

wes

I also have a master's in Exercise Physiology and have a bachelors in Kinesiology and Physiology. Yes, this background has been very helpful during PM&R residency. We have a head start in cardio-pulmonary rehab, patients who are deconditioned, functional anatomy/biomechanics and its application to musculoskeletal medicine and gait analysis. I agree with wes... you are far too early in your training to commit to one specialty! Your background will help you in other fields of medicine as well!

BTW, I have met several PM&R residents and attendings that have a degree in exercise physiology.

 

[judgehopkins]

I completely agree that I shouldn't be set on a specific specialty yet, but this is definitely an area that I am interested in, especially exercise based interventions.

 

[rehab_sports_dr]

> I am currently very interested in PM&R and would like to know if there is anyone out there who a degree in ex sci/ex phys who practices pm&r.

I have a PhD in anatomy and a background in exercise physiology. I have found the background has been enormously helpful to me in my PM+R training


> I would also like to know how congruent pm&r is with my training in physiology and would like to know how much opportunity there would be to use my degree in the field of PM&R.

I will speak more strongly than my colleagues- for someone with a background in exercise physiology, PM&R is THE specialty with the most congruency with your prior training. There is no other specialty that has a similar emphasis in musculoskeletal and neuromuscular physiology, biomechanics, and function. If your desire is to expand on your exercise physiology knowledge in a clinical setting, PM&R should fit you extremely well

Examples of where exercise physiology is important in PM&R:
1. Muscle physiology- extremely important in the context of electrodiagnostic studies like EMGs, essential for understanding neuromuscular diseases
2. Biomechanics- core to understanding prosthetics, orthotics, and musculoskeletal medicine
3. Musculoskeletal anatomy- essential to sports and musculoskeletal medicine, spinal cord injury, prosthetics, etc.

And to further encourage you to pursue PM+R- we are still a young field, so we would be very welcoming to your insights, which many not be as true for a more established field

 

[mspe22med]

I am currently a Graduate Student in Exercise Physiology and will have my master's degree in june. I will be starting medical school in July.

I am currently very interested in PM&R and would like to know if there is anyone out there who a degree in ex sci/ex phys who practices pm&r.

I would also like to know how congruent pm&r is with my training in physiology and would like to know how much opportunity there would be to use my degree in the field of PM&R.

Any information that any of you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

also any additional information that you could provide concerning how good of a fit exercise physiology and PM&R would be, is greatly appreciated.

Thank You

JH-

I have a similar background. B.S. Exercise Science, M.S. Exercise Science. Also entering medical school this coming fall. PM & R was what attracted me to medicine in the first place. But as I get further engulfed so many areas of medicine interest me. FT work in assisted living and social work experience have opened my eyes to what is out there. I expect medical school will do the same. Still loving PM & R though Good luck in med school!

 

[judgehopkins]

I would like to thank everyone who has replied to this thread. This is definitely one of the specialty areas that I will be looking into.

Thank you

 

[ermonty]

I too have a background in ExPhys. It is what exposed and attracted me to medical school in the first place, through cardio-pulmonary rehab. Now as I trudge through my third year surgery rotation, I find myself dreaming of the days when I was actually able to practice what I precah to my patients - exercise and good nurition and general healthy habits. I'm starting to think more and more about PM&R. However, one problem, my school doesnt have a PM&R department!! So now I'm trying to figure out how to proceed without good mentorship and guidance in-house. Any advice??? Thanks!

Monty

 

[undercover]

Depends on where you are. If you are close to another school that has a PMR department, that'd be a place to start. If your school does not have a department, I would recommend starting at a place that isn't a strong program, but a program where the people are friendly and can help you out. If you choose to do more rotations, then you can look at specific places that you are interested in. This way, your initial exposure doesn't expose any basic lacks of knowledge. If you are willing to state geographical areas you are interested in, I (and many other people) can suggest programs that would be good to do initial rotations at.

 

[ermonty]

Depends on where you are. If you are close to another school that has a PMR department, that'd be a place to start. If your school does not have a department, I would recommend starting at a place that isn't a strong program, but a program where the people are friendly and can help you out. If you choose to do more rotations, then you can look at specific places that you are interested in. This way, your initial exposure doesn't expose any basic lacks of knowledge. If you are willing to state geographical areas you are interested in, I (and many other people) can suggest programs that would be good to do initial rotations at.

I'm actually at a school in GA. I know Emory has a pretty popular PM&R program with spots for away rotations. However, I completely agree with your comment about rotating somewhere small and down-to-earth so that I can get good face time and a good rec out of it, as well as determine if ths is the specialty for me. I would like to stay in the southeast. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Monty

 

[undercover]

I don't know the southeast too well since I'm not looking into that area. However, UVA has a good rep for being a small program with good people. UNC might also. I don't know much about Emory except that they might be in flux right now as far as changing chairperson, etc. Unfortunately, I can't tell you about the SE too much. Sorry!

 

[ermonty]

Thanks! I actually got accepted to UVA medschool, but turned it down b/c it was way to much $$$. I told them I would be back for residency!

Anyone know anything about other programs in the SE??

 

[caedmon]

Wcrisp, what year are you? I'm an excercise sci guy, and I'll be at Mayo next year. yippee.

 

[ermonty]

Caedmon I PM'd you. Anyone else have the low-down on the SE programs? Or just advice in general about pursuing PM&R when theres no department at your home school. Thanks!

Monty