How in demand are inpatient Rehab Docs?

[tealeafexplorer]

If you want to move to a saturated desirable area right after Residency (SoCal), is inpatient Rehab the way to go? I keep seeing people post how pretty much all outpatient jobs in desirable areas are saturated, as well as fellowships narrowing the job market making it even harder to find a job in the specific area you want to live (for family reason).

With that being said, is the best route to go just inpatient with no fellowships? SCI fellowship would interest me, however I hear it really narrows down your job opportunities.

Money is not an issue, but location is. Also what are the typical hours of inpatient vs outpatient PMR? Are they both roughly 9-5?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[RangerBob]

Inpatient jobs are always in demand. Not many physiatrists want to do inpatient these days. Personally I find it much more relaxed and enjoyable.

Fellowships never limit you. However, for inpatient they’re almost never needed unless you’re trying to work at a VA SCI or other dedicated SCI/brain injury unit. For a general rehab in a brain injury fellowship is much more useful, but still not needed. It could be a bonus, but the majority of the time it just delays working by a year, meaning you give up a year of salary.

Hours vary significantly depending on your setup, for both inpatient and outpatient.

 

[Eurycea]

Is it true that the market for outpatient PM&R jobs (with or without pain/sports/spine fellowship) is saturated in metropolitan areas?

 

[runfastnow]

Inpatient:
If you don't care about working for Encompass or some similar organization you can work anywhere in the country. If you want to do some hyperspecialized thing or remain a pure academic it can be harder to find something in major coastal cities + Chicago.

Outpatient:
Northeast metro areas are saturated for outpatient and you will be paid accordingly (lower than you should) and live in a higher COL city/area. I cannot speak for the west coast or Chicago but since the major cities all have very good PM&R programs (plus young people want to move there) they would likely be saturated as well.

The south and midwest (outside of Chicago) have plenty of opportunities; although I know Dallas is starting to get saturated with pain.

 

[tealeafexplorer]

Thank you for the responses.

Can current attendings give their insight on their practice model, if they have any fellowships, and what their typical day is like?

 

[RangerBob]

Thank you for the responses.

Can current attendings give their insight on their practice model, if they have any fellowships, and what their typical day is like?

This is going to vary significantly, even for docs doing the same thing (such as IPR, outpatient MSK, etc.).

I'm an independent contractor on an inpatient unit. Typically I get in around 7:30-8. If there are no admits or team conferences, I may be done by 11-12. With admits, done anywhere from 1-6pm depending on how many admits I get. I haven't had to stay past 6:30 in over a year. I work 5 days per week. Typically we each take about 6 weeks vacation/year--as an independent contractor we can take as much/little as we want, but 6 weeks has been what each of us feels is a decent amount to take off. Less so right now with COVID.

 

[DMBandFan86]

You can also look for jobs on practicelink for the locations you want to live in. This will at least give you an idea for positions available currently.

I personally like practicelink but aapmr has a job board as well. You can look on LinkedIn or doccafe or doximity as well.

I’m doing all inpatient at the moment and it’s pretty good. Just depends who you work for and how the rehab is set up. Inpatient jobs are readily available but you may have to be willing to relocate.

 

[tealeafexplorer]

You can also look for jobs on practicelink for the locations you want to live in. This will at least give you an idea for positions available currently.

I personally like practicelink but aapmr has a job board as well. You can look on LinkedIn or doccafe or doximity as well.

I’m doing all inpatient at the moment and it’s pretty good. Just depends who you work for and how the rehab is set up. Inpatient jobs are readily available but you may have to be willing to relocate.

Is indeed a reliable source?
I cant find jobs where I want to live onpracticelink or doximity,but there are a bunch on indeed.

 

[DMBandFan86]

I didn’t like indeed as you get a lot of junk on there. But there are legitimate jobs on there as well so you may find something. Doximity has very little postings. Doccafe, comphealth, locums more for temp work.

I think practicelink is the most accurate for hospital or practice based job openings. Things might be saturated in your market.

 

[tealeafexplorer]

I didn’t like indeed as you get a lot of junk on there. But there are legitimate jobs on there as well so you may find something. Doximity has very little postings. Doccafe, comphealth, locums more for temp work.

I think practicelink is the most accurate for hospital or practice based job openings. Things might be saturated in your market.

Unfortunately I think so.

My #1 priority would be to move back to San Diego shortly after residency but not immediately.

I would prefer physiatry, but if the job market is that difficult, I would consider Family medicine as well, as they need docs everywhere.

Difficult decision,but do you think cold calling and trying to force yourself into the San Diego Physiatry Job market would be able to land you a job after a few years of trying + building experience?

Big debates right now as to what I should try and do. PMR with maybe being able to relocate back to my and my wife's family, or Family medicine, which will allow me to relocate whenever.

 

[PMR2008]

We just hired a doc to work out in San Diego. Most jobs are word of mouth and through connections. Physiatry and family medicine are very different. First figure out what you want to do. Cold calling, networking at events, having the right social and technical skill sets are all you need. It is not impossible to find a job anywhere in the country. You will either have to sacrifice the salary or type of job if you are 100% set to work in San Diego.

 

[PMR2008]

Inpatient:
If you don't care about working for Encompass or some similar organization you can work anywhere in the country. If you want to do some hyperspecialized thing or remain a pure academic it can be harder to find something in major coastal cities + Chicago.

Outpatient:
Northeast metro areas are saturated for outpatient and you will be paid accordingly (lower than you should) and live in a higher COL city/area. I cannot speak for the west coast or Chicago but since the major cities all have very good PM&R programs (plus young people want to move there) they would likely be saturated as well.

The south and midwest (outside of Chicago) have plenty of opportunities; although I know Dallas is starting to get saturated with pain.

Agree with all the above. When I was applying for jobs in Chicago around 2012 I was told that Chicago is saturated. This is true but since than I have seen hundreds of openings. Physicians relocate, groups expand, new practices open up, new opportunities to start your own practice come up etc.
My recommendation for getting into a saturated market is get your foot in the door and sign a contract with a lenient non compete. Once you are in the market you will hear about a lot more opportunities and will know what the best jobs are. Most docs that I know left their first job and finally landed on something they liked at the 3rd try.

 

[runfastnow]

We just hired a doc to work out in San Diego. Most jobs are word of mouth and through connections. Physiatry and family medicine are very different. First figure out what you want to do. Cold calling, networking at events, having the right social and technical skill sets are all you need. It is not impossible to find a job anywhere in the country. You will either have to sacrifice the salary or type of job if you are 100% set to work in San Diego.

Agree. I got my current job (which I love) by applying extremely early compared to the "typical" time line and some cards fell my way. I also had several other job leads by cold calling places I wanted to live/practice. You need a set of desirable skills and know what you want though - just showing up with an MD and PM&R residency isn't enough to open eyes if you need to be in a specific region.

There are generally three things around your job: location, practice type (academic/private + subspecialty), and salary/benefits. The more granular you get about any one of these the more the other two will suffer (generally). If you want/need to be in San Diego then you may get paid less than you want and/or do something in PM&R you don't enjoy .... but you can find a way to be a physiatrist in just about any place in the country with 50k people within an hour or so of your office.

 

[Govols22]

Inpatient:
If you don't care about working for Encompass or some similar organization you can work anywhere in the country. If you want to do some hyperspecialized thing or remain a pure academic it can be harder to find something in major coastal cities + Chicago.

Outpatient:
Northeast metro areas are saturated for outpatient and you will be paid accordingly (lower than you should) and live in a higher COL city/area. I cannot speak for the west coast or Chicago but since the major cities all have very good PM&R programs (plus young people want to move there) they would likely be saturated as well.

The south and midwest (outside of Chicago) have plenty of opportunities; although I know Dallas is starting to get saturated with pain.

Interesting. I was planning to stay in Atlanta and was unsure how saturated it is down here.