No opportunity to do PM&R research

[Deucedano]

I am a first year medical student and I have to do a research project to graduate. Unfortunately, my school does not have a residency program and our pm&r department is very small. My question is does it matter whether or not I do research in PM&R? I have narcolepsy and many research ideas that I would like to explore, but it is a completely different area than PM&R. How would PD's view something like that? My advisor also told me not to disclose my disability because it is viewed as a weakness, so would that throw up a red flag if I didnt disclose for the match?

On a side note, I was also wondering how important extracirriculars are in matching in PM&R. I am involved in a joint project between the head of our rehab hospital and undergraduate engineering students who are designing devices to aid SCI patients with daily living. We plan to present this at an orthopedic conference in June. I am also the vice-president of the business club and am in the process of starting a PM&R interest group. I hate the way this sounds, but is this enough. There is not much else I would like to do in my area and I refuse to participate in something Im not interested in.

Thanks

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[PMR 4 MSK]

What you are doing is enough. PM&R doesn't demand research, and certainly not in the field. It certainly doesn't hurt if you have it, might help you to have a PM&R-based research project. But you will do far better doing something that interests you and is close to you, than something you know nothing about. It will clearly show in your work either way.

You are under no obligation to reveal any medical condition, impairment or disability, and you are probably better off keeping it to yourself until you are in a program - they can't fire you for having it, but you are right, they might consider you a liability if they know about it in advance. But PM&R is much more open to residents with disabilities.

As for extracurriculars, again, do what intersts you, not for what impact they will have on your residency chances, but for what they mean to you - it will come across in interviews that you are passionate about something.

PM&R wants people who have a sincere interest in the field, and since most programs having trouble filling with their top choices, if you are an American grad, and want to do PM&R, and pass med school and the boards, you'll get in somewhere. The higher your scores, and the better you interview, the better the program will be that you match with.

 

[The JockDoc]

I am a first year medical student and I have to do a research project to graduate. Unfortunately, my school does not have a residency program and our pm&r department is very small. My question is does it matter whether or not I do research in PM&R? I have narcolepsy and many research ideas that I would like to explore, but it is a completely different area than PM&R. How would PD's view something like that? My advisor also told me not to disclose my disability because it is viewed as a weakness, so would that throw up a red flag if I didnt disclose for the match?

On a side note, I was also wondering how important extracirriculars are in matching in PM&R. I am involved in a joint project between the head of our rehab hospital and undergraduate engineering students who are designing devices to aid SCI patients with daily living. We plan to present this at an orthopedic conference in June. I am also the vice-president of the business club and am in the process of starting a PM&R interest group. I hate the way this sounds, but is this enough. There is not much else I would like to do in my area and I refuse to participate in something Im not interested in.

Thanks

I think we go to the same school, and I feel ya. I understand your concern about the non-presence of PM&R here, and it manifests itself in how our school has been matching. I don't think that anyone matched into it last year, and from what i hear, no one is applying to it this year either. I'm confident that it's because of the lack of awareness and resources for med students, and not because of the school itself. There have been many grads in the past who have matched into solid programs, just not recently.

That being said I've got three pieces of advice:
1. Worry less about the number of things you are involved in, and concentrate on the quality of your projects. It will be infinitely more rewarding to get your research moving along and to bring it to publishable standards by 4th year than tallying a bunch of minor extracurriculars. I know that it will be very difficult to complete any research via correspondence when the grunt-work and grant-work is still being figured out, which is where the project is right now. A PM&R interest group is a good idea, and I'd love to see it happen.

2. Look elsewhere this summer to get some experience in PMR. RIC has the externship, and there's a lot of other schools where you can probably shadow at or even do some research with if you get your ducks in a row. Don't think that your project has to be directly involved in rehab either, like the other poster wrote. Mine isn't.

3. You are in school to be a student. Worrying about extracurriculars to show interest in a specialty should be far down your to-do list. Concentrate on doing a good job as a student - starting with boards and grades.

Who knows, you might decide to do something different later on.

 

[NJMS2009]

PM&R research opportunity. May be worth your time.

http://www.physiatry.org/Education_RREMS_front.cfm

Salud

 

[Deucedano]

PM&R research opportunity. May be worth your time.

http://www.physiatry.org/Education_RREMS_front.cfm

Salud

Thanks. Yes this is definately worth my time.

 

[dreambig2night]

how about research for 3rd or 4th year students?

 

[Deucedano]

how about research for 3rd or 4th year students?

Check out that website. It is for all medical students not just first years.