letter from PM&R physician

[orthopmr]

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I am an IMG applying in PMR this season. Unfortunately I dont have any letter from PMR physician. I have done orthopaedic surgery residency back home have a year of hands on clinical experience in orthopaedics in USA.I havedone one month of obsevership but they dont provide letter and will be pursuing research in stroke rehab in october onwards, so dont have letter from there either. does any one know how will this affect my application? any feedback will be appreciated
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[axm397]

I am an IMG applying in PMR this season. Unfortunately I dont have any letter from PMR physician. I have done orthopaedic surgery residency back home have a year of hands on clinical experience in orthopaedics in USA.I havedone one month of obsevership but they dont provide letter and will be pursuing research in stroke rehab in october onwards, so dont have letter from there either. does any one know how will this affect my application? any feedback will be appreciated
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More than some other fields, letters of recommendation can be very important in the PM&R application process because PM&R is a small field and everyone knows everyone - most PDs know each other and most academic attendings know each other - so having a letter from someone they know vouching for you can go a long way.

Your best bet now since you can't change your circumstances - is to apply wide - apply to all the residencies in the country that you would consider going to - and see how many interviews you get. Also consider applying to prelim medicine programs where they have PM&R residencies in case you don't match and fail to scramble you might be able to snag a spot if you are a prelim intern and can do rotations at the residency.