Job Market and COVID-19

[ooitsrich]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or insight for a PM&R residency graduate in 2021. Do you think that the COVID-19 pandemic will affect PM&R job prospects? Would it be advisable to consider a fellowship for a year to ride things out until things become clearer? Thanks for your time and input.

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[PMR2008]

If I was in your position I would strongly consider a fellowship. It is just a year. Will go by before you know it and you carry that with you for the rest of your career.

 

[Piebaldi]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or insight for a PM&R residency graduate in 2021. Do you think that the COVID-19 pandemic will affect PM&R job prospects? Would it be advisable to consider a fellowship for a year to ride things out until things become clearer? Thanks for your time and input.

Depending on the fellowship. Certain fellowships provide minimal to no financial value. I personally think that once the lockdowns are removed tehre will be a large increase in need of rehab doctors given that a lot of these patients will need rehab. i have been getting contacted even by recruiiting for opportunities after pandemic stabilizes. there are plenty of jobs now - i personally would only do a fellowship if u have an interest in something.

 

[RangerBob]

I agree it depends on what you want to do.

Inpatient? Go right ahead--plenty of jobs, and to my knowledge most, if not all, units are still open and taking patients. No need for fellowship.

Outpatient? Many clinics in general are closed or working at lower/slower volumes right now. I'd expect most to start ramping up within a few months, and certainly by July 2021. But, who knows--it doesn't hurt to explore your options, so it could be worthwhile to look into fellowships.

Generally, only do a fellowship if you need it to do the job you want to do.

 

[PainRehabMD]

Do note that many hospitals and private groups have gone into hiring freeze and some have furloughed/laid off their physicians while many others have issued salary cuts. Outpatient jobs are scarce right now and will continue to be until the clinics recover from this and go back to their normal volumes.

It's better in the inpatient market now (as it also was before the lockdown), but with that said, some inpatients units have also temporarily closed.

Summer 2021 is more than a year from now though and it's hard to predict the future but you should be ok. Obviously will depend on where you want to be and what you want to be doing.