PGY-1 & PGY-2 Programs for PM&R

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Hey All,

I've heard some good things about the UC Davis PM&R Residency. Unfortunately, I have not talked to enough people familiar with the program. Anybody wish to comment on it?

Feel free to give your unreserved opinion.

Thanks!
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I highly recommend the program...Brian Davis is excellent...go to scutwork.com for insight...it would be one of my top choices, if I had to do it over again
 
Do you happen to have any specific reasons you like the program? The reviews on scutwork are medstudent reviews and not very useful....

Please elaborate if possible.

Thanks!
 
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Hi Everyone,

I am just finalizing my Rank List for the Match and am really torn between the following 3 programs:

1. NYU
2. Mt. Sinai
3. Columbia/Cornell

I would appreciate any feedback on the perceived strengths/weaknesses of each of the 3. Where are they headed, etc...

Thanks so much...

:confused:
 
Originally posted by PC:
Hi Everyone,

I am just finalizing my Rank List for the Match and am really torn between the following 3 programs:

1. NYU
2. Mt. Sinai
3. Columbia/Cornell

I would appreciate any feedback on the perceived strengths/weaknesses of each of the 3. Where are they headed, etc...

Thanks so much...

:confused:
Click to expand...
1. Interviewed at NYU, and the biggest thing that affected my ranking them low was the interaction I had with the residents. I was hard pressed to find one that was happy to be there. And I figured that if I matched there and was unhappy, I would have no one to blame but myself, as I had been well warned. I suppose I wasn't the only one who felt that way. They didn't match all their spots last year. I'm sure they were as shocked as anyone else. Great name. Don't know how much they ride on their laurels. Is it worth getting hammered for to get the name and live in Manhattan(which is where I REALLY wanted to live)...I didn't think so...
2. Mt Sinai- Well I didn't think too much about the program. It was average, with the selling point for me that it was 1) in NYC and 2) Only 3 hospitals you rotated through, minimizing the amount of travel you had to do, yet get all the experiences you needed. In the end, I ranked them lower only because I spoke with a med student at Sinai that was going into PM&R. She basically told me that she wouldn't go there, and I trusted her opinion (too much maybe, I don't know)...
3. Cornell/Columbia- Once again, a rather average program in my opinion with the big draw of being in NYC. I particularly didn't like the fact that you had no elective time, as well as the multiple multiple sites you had to travel too. It would be bad enough that I couldn't afford a car in NYC, how would I get around to all those sites. Most of the residents had "special" set-ups where they could get a car if needed. I wasn't so fortunate. And no one gave me a good answer for how they would deal with this if it wasn't an issue. Besides, I didn't like all those satellite hospitals. A little too spread out for me.
 
I also interviewed at NY Pres/Columbia/Cornell and MT. Sinai. My feelings about Mt. Sinai is that it is a good program if you are a self motivated resident. I felt that it was more inpatient focused with a strong experience in SCI. Besides that, there was nothing that stood out to me except the fact that it's in the city. Col/Cornell's biggest selling points are the affordable upper eastside housing and rotations at HSS. One resident at the interview told me that he was working very long hours at Columbia's inpatient unit. I also did not like the fact that some of the rotations were too spread out where one needs a car for at least 3 months. Probably better for outpatient experience than Mt. Sinai. I've heard about the malignancy at Rusk so I cancelled my interview at NYU. However, I have talked to others who loved it there. Good luck in making your decision.
 
My observations of the programs are very similar. However, I would pick Columbia/Cornell over NYU or Mt. Sinai. I canceled my interview at NYU and didn't even rank Mt. Sinai. The residents and graduates of RUSK have all recommended not going to the program. RUSK has a great reputation, but the residency is another story. I got the feeling that Mt. Sinai's program receives very little financial support and they seem to have problems attracting quality residents.

There will obviously be some growing pains with the combination of the Columbia and Cornell program. However, I feel that with the resources that both have to offer, it will become one of the top programs in the future.

I would rank as follows:

1. Columbia/Cornell
2. I don't know because I canceled my interview at NYU. I would rank a program outside of New York because the next NY program is a very distant second (IMHO).
 
I'm done with my PM&R rank list, but I cant decide between preliminary medicine or a transitional year for my supplementary list. Please help! What do you guys think???
 
I think it matters what ur looking for.

If u want to have a good clinical exp. for 1 yr. in medicine, that u will never touch again, I would go to prelim.

IF u want a more relaxed and easy going yr. with much more leeway in making ur scehedule I would go with transitional yr.

Good luck.
 
Offering a slightly different opinion.

I would say that the 1 yr prelim IM route would give you more experience in pt managment, exposure to specialties you will be working with in rehab (neuro, cardio, renal, etc rotations), and experience handling inpt emergencies (from being on-call). As opposed to the shorter time of exposure a transitional yr would give you. I believe these things are important to see since inpt rehab pt. can have loads of medical complications (renal failure, post-mi, post-stroke, DM often in the same pt). Even if they are 'stabilized' at the time of transfer to the rehab, these issues need to be addressed, and you would need to be able to recognise changes for the worse (hopefully sooner than later).

If you were concerned about the amount of work/pain you would have in your prelim year, then I would look at the larger community programs. These are typically nicer (night float, non-teaching services, friendlier attngs/residents)than university programs, yet will still give you good experience managing patients and have a variety of pathologies.

That's not to say you won't get this in a transitional year, but the shorter amt of time you spend in each field will def limit your exposure and the residents may not trust you as much to make decisions on these pts since you are only there for 3-6 months as opposed to being part of the program for the whole year.
 
Inpt rehab is similar to a medicine rotation, you will spend more time dealing with medical problems than rehab.

There is a reason neurology recommends 8 months of IM the PG-1 year...it can make the inpt time easier if you know IM well.
 
I decided to rank preliminary medicine higher than the transitional years!!! Lots of good advise! Thanks!
 
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I was asked by one of the SDN members to comment on the UCD PM&R Residency program - I am very appreciative to 'prefontaine' for mentioning my name and giving positive info about our program. We have, what I believe, to be one of the most well-rounded programs in the US. We do have a heavy out-patient/ musculoskeletal program, but make certain that the basics of stroke, SCI, head injury, amputee, burn, etc. are covered extensively, but not excessively.

Our residents have been exceptional. They have great work ethic and are very sharp. They teach the med students like they were attendings. I think that the attendings and the Chair really take an interest in the students and residents, and try to resolve issues wherever possible.

Several of the attendings are nationally reknowned (Craig McDonald - Pediatrics, NMD, EMG; Dave Kilmer [Chair] - NMD, EMG; and Mark Wineinger - NMD). Two of us are active in the Sports Medicine community at all levels and work with professional basketball (Sacramento Monarchs), professional baseball (Sacramento Rivercats, Oakland As Triple A affiliate), professional boxing, collegiate sports (UC Davis), elite track and field (US T&F events - national and local), elite amateur disabled swimming (National Disability Sports Alliance - national and international), and elite amateur boxing (USA Boxing - national and international).

If you would like to learn more about the program, please feel free to call 916-734-5292 and talk to Pat Setje, our coordinator for residency. I'd be glad to answer any questions, as well.

Brian Davis
 
Hi Dr. Davis,

Welcome to SDN! There's an evolving interest in PM&R among medical students and I've heard that PM&R did very well in the match this year. I've also heard that applications were up at top programs by as much as 15-20%. Is this your experience?

Also, how's the interventional pain training at Davis? Is there a fellowship? Is it run through PM&R or Anesthesia? Are their good working relationships? How much exposure to procedures to the residents get?

What kind of PM&R research opportunities are available through UC Davis? Has the program ever sponsored a resident in the AAP's K-12 program?
 
Dear drusso and other thread-followers:

I unfortunately will not be able to check back onto this thread often as I have a number of other current large committments that will make it difficult to do so. Please feel free to call UCD PM&R and get my home e-mail and we can probably 'chat' at greater length.

To answer the questions that drusso posted:
1. PM&R has fluctuated in its popularity. I believe that the applicant group this year was exceptionally strong, but those strong candidates typically concentrate their efforts on the strong programs. This unfortunately leaves some mediocre applicants for the mediocre programs. You guessed it - all programs eventually will fill their spots, regardless of their quality/ training. I don't know about the exact numbers, but know that the NRMP, AAP and possibly the AAPM&R follow those statistics.
2. The interventional portion of our program has improved dramatically just over the last year. We now have a rotation (1 month or 2?) for residents with Pain Management, specifically doing procedures (for good or bad - you probably don't want to hear my diatribe on this). In our clinics, we also do a fair amount of shoulder, knee, hand and ankle injections when indicated and residents become very proficient at nerve blocks and motor point blocks for spasticity.
3. A pain fellowship is offered by UCD through Anesthesiology, but it has two PM&R faculty on staff (me and Dr. Gagan Mahajan - he's very good). I am currently working with Family Practice to set up a joint PM&R-Fam Prac Sports/ Musculoskeletal fellowship (probably 1 PM&R and one Fam Prac fellow per year).
4. The working relationship between PM&R and Anesthesiology/ Pain Management is excellent.
5. Research is now a requirement at UCD. All faculty are doing research. The list of projects is availbale from Pat (number posted above), but may not be completely updated. There is bench-work as well as clinical work present in our immediate department, in exercise physiology and collaboration is very easy, as we have very strong relationships with about 95% of the other UCD departments.
6. I cannot comment on the K-12, as I am not very familiar with the program. I would hope that Pat would either know the answer or could find out.

Hope these answer your questions.

Again, for those more interested in the UCD PM&R program, call Pat (916-734-5292), visit my website: http://www.ucdsportsspine.salu.net (it has a link to UCD PM&R web page), or go to the PM&R website through http://rrtc.ucdavis.edu/pm&r.

Brian Davis
 
I'm a 4th year med student who most likely will be applying for a PM&R spot...somewhere...

A spot at a good program someone in NYC or nearby would be great. Does anyone have any opinions on programs in the NYC city area? The main points I would be interested in are the quality of the program and how competitive it is...

As a future PM&R doc ( I hope) I need to figure out where to apply for my intern year. I'm presently a med student at emory, and I get the impression that the transitional year program year is pretty brutal. Does anyone know of a good program that doesn't destroy its interns?

Possibly in the NYC area?
 
Actually, TY programs are generally regarded as easier (in terms of hours) and more competitive than prelims in medicine or surgery. I assume your question is really about which programs are the cushiest. :) The TY programs that I liked in NY were as follows:

1. Mt.Sinai - Cabrini
2. NYMC at St. Vincent's Hospital

I can't remember all the details because it's been a long time since I interviewed. However, I remember both programs offering lots of electives and a very kind call schedule. I also interviewed at the Medicine Prelim at NYU - Downtown Hospital. I ranked the program fairly low, but the pay was much higher than the other programs ($50,000 for PGY-1) and they offered a studio for $100-$200 in the Financial District -- not a terrible deal if you're single!

Just outside of NY, I interviewed at the two TYs affiliated with Yale. I thought both programs were pretty good and the hours were pretty decent. Anyway, that's about it for me since I didn't want to be in NY for internship or residency. Both programs in NY are extremely competitive because you are competing with people going into Derm, Rads, EM, etc. Most of them would rather not do a prelim in medicine or surgery too (at least the smart ones ;) ).

Anyway, most PM&R programs would prefer that you do a Prelim in medicine. However, most of the residents in my program opted to do a TY. Unless you like IM or GS, I would highly recommend trying to get into a TY program. As a prelim in medicine or surgery, you pretty much get integrated into the medicine or surgery service. Therefore, you have more responsibilites and more is expected of you (at least that was the way it was in my program). Also, TY programs generally offer more elective time (I had four months) and this translates into no call that month. With the elective time, I spent two months doing Pain Management and the Rads Interns spent all four months in the Radiology department. Good luck.
 
Agree with Stink. I'm doing a transitional year right now in preparation for PM&R. It's nice having the elective time to rotate on rehab-related services during your internship (pain, ortho, rheum, sports, neuro, etc). Most of the transitional year programs are more competitive to land than a prelim year in medicine or surgery (shutter the thought). I'd recommend a transitional year program over a prelim medicine year any day.
 
Hmm, well obviously I would be better doing a ty than a standard IM or GS....

My only concern is--my grades suck and my board scores on step one were not so great (204/83) so if TY programs are really that competitive, I doubt I would match in anything decent...


So are good TY spots tough to get, really?

Of course, while NYC would be nice I likely will look at PM&R programs all over the country....so if I can find one thats matched with a nice TY program, all the better!
 
I'm interested in PM&R but I have to admit, aside from the name programs I'm still kind of at a loss when thinking about places to apply to...

I don't have a good gpa or a good step one score, so I am not going to be a super competitive applicant...but I would like to go SOMEWHERE...

Ideally I would like to do sports medicine work somewhere, so I guess a program with good Musculoskeletal training would be important..

Any thoughts on the following programs?

Stanford
(any other good programs on the west coast)
U of Wash (seattle)
NYU
Albert Einstein (at LIJ campus)
Mt. Sinai
NYMC St Vincent
 
Go transitional without a doubt. I was given my transitional year when I matched into radiology here in Michigan. Every program has different requirements but here's what I'm doing. 2 months of general IM (q4 call), 1 month of Nephrology (q4 call), 1 month of General Surgery (q4 call). Those are all my call months and are required for the TY. A Family Practice OP month (no call) and Emergency Medicine (no call) month are required as well. This leaves me with 6 elective months. Because of my integration with the radiology program, they require me to do 2 months of Nuclear Medicine in my TY (this leaves an additional 2 elective months my PGY-5 year as we're required to have 6 months of Nucs by the ABR). That leaves 4 real electives which are very heavy on teaching, very low on scut, no call, usually no weekends (maybe 1 or 2 morning on Saturday).

My PGY-1 year is much easier than my 3rd year of medical school and I think it gives people a pretty broad based education and with the electives, you can take rotations that you're interested in or want to learn more about.

At other TY programs I interviewed at, some required Pediatrics and I remember one required 2 months of OB (I didn't rank that program, what am I going to learn delivering babies for 2 months and being on call q4 days as well). I didn't even look into prelim med or surgery programs, but I can't imagine doing a PGY-1 year in prelim surgery and then rads unless you love surgery.

Good luck.
 
On the west coast I think it comes down to three programs: UC Davis, UW Seattle, and Stanford. Of the three, I think that UC Davis is the most musculoskeletally-oriented and UW Seattle is by-far the most inpatient-oriented (they are slowly trying to incorporate more MS, pain, and interventional stuff but are still a far way from Spaulding, Mayo, Michigan, or Kessler.

I rotated at Seattle and have to say that it is a strong program overall with an excellent reputation within PM&R. The residents are busier than at most programs, the inpatient load is heavy, and the amount of general medical issues you are expected to handle as opposed to straight rehab is high. The EMG training is also very solid. However, almost every single Seattle resident that is serious about musculoskeletal medicine does a fellowship after residency usually at Michigan or Mayo. This has been the trend for the last 5 years. The training philosophy of the program is that sports, spine, musculoskeletal, and pain are disciplines best pursued at the fellowship training level and residency should concentrate more on traditional inpatient rehab and electrodiagnostic medicine. This is increasingly being viewed as a minority view within the field.

I did not rotate at Stanford, but have heard that the program suffers from a lack of identity within the institution. PM&R at Stanford, if I remember correctly, is a division of Functional Restoration which is controlled mostly by Ortho. I believe that the training is probably adequate and the biggest bonus is being in the SF Bay Area. Stanford does have some good connections within the spine rehab community (the Saal brothers who invented IDET trained there and are well-known nationally and internationally).

UC Davis is a small program and may lack some exposure to some areas of rehab medicine. However, in comparison to UW and Stanford, I think UC Davis is the most musculoskeletally-oriented of the three. The program is working more and more closely with the anesthesia-based pain program and I think the residents may get some fair exposure to interventional pain procedures.

I can't comment on any programs in southern CA.
 
Yes, I agree that for the most part transitional years are much eaiser because you do basically 4 months-6months of electives and vacation. It is all a trade off. I do six, 4week blocks of medicine (with 1 block of night float), 1 block of surgery, 1 block ER, 4 blocks electives, and 1 block vacation. My electives are sweet 9-5 no call no weekends, the ER is doable I think with 20 - 12 hr shifts, medicine is q4-6 until 9pm with night float 7 days a week (no overnight call), surgery is q4 overnight during the weekdays with post call day off, and we cross-cover sat, sun in four 12hour shifts. It's not the cushiest place though. And some straight medicine programs were more cush than my program, but those programs offer only 1 month of elective time, so everything is a trade off. The patients in my hospital tend to be sicker and more complicated than other cush places I interviewed. Some patients who I believe are borderline ICU candidates do not get transferred at times on the medicine service. In other hospitals they would go straight to the unit... And you can imagine this can cause the patient and the new intern some distress. ;)
 
Hi, I have reviewed these 2 programs on Scutwork.com but I was curious if any SDN posters had any ancedotal stories, etc.

How do these 2 stand on a national level?
Which one is stronger in which areas?
What is a strong Step I score for each program?
How competitive is each program?

Any other comments would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Bigfrank.
 
hey, we'd also appreciate it if you could share your experience/insight with us. please write here and not just pm. thanks
 
1. How competitive is this program for someone who does not go to medschool in Texas?
I think you'll find that although there are on average more residents from Texas or have ties to Texas in some way, it's by no means exclusive. This past match for example, we had no one from Texas.

2. Do you know what Step I score is important?
As with most other PM&R programs, the STEP 1 score is not so much as an issue. That is not to say that you shouldn't have a competitive score however. Over the last few years, PM&R in general has experienced an increase in applications. The nationwide match rate when I applied was in the 70's. This past year, it was in the 90's. With a more competitive score, you'll have more options, making it more easier for you to go where you want to go.

3. How "good" of outpatient pain management exposure is there?
I'd like to say that I had more info on this, but I don't as I haven't done my pain mgmt rotations yet. However, from talking to the upperclassmen, there is plenty of exposure. We work closely with ANES, and actually do a few rotations with them in their Pain Mgmt clinic. One of our residents is seriously pursuing the ANES pain mgmt fellowship here. Our Chairman, Nick Walsh, is well known and respected in the areas of acute and chronic pain. Writing numerous papers in the area. If there is anybody who knows about pain mgmt, it's him...

this is of course not an all inclusive list of his publications, as our web page hasn't been updated in a couple of years(something I have to work on I see) :)

http://daffodil.uthscsa.edu/faculty/walsh/pub.html


4. Is an outside rotation at UTHSCSA very helpful?
Only a few of our residents actually did a rotation here before coming. Doing a "dress rehearsal" rotation can sometimes work in your favor or against you, depending on your experience. And that's for any program. I think doing a rotation here, may be helpful to find out if
1. You like the residents that you would be working with
2. You like the city you would be living in


any other questions you have, I'd be happy to answer.
 
Hello everyone, this is my first post.

Last year, I interviewed at both programs, among 14 total PM&R interviews I went to last year around the country. Hopefully I can provide some insight.

1. How do these 2 stand on a national level?

They both are outstanding programs. In and of itself, I believe that Baylor has a bigger name (a lot to do with its size). As far as I classify it, Baylor is one of the big five in the PM&R. The others being RIC, Kessler, Mayo, and UW. (I'm not saying these are the best programs, but they have a lot of influence in academics and research). When I went to other programs, a lot of the other program directors knew of Baylor.

As mentioned before in another program, though UTHSCSA is a smaller program, it has two big shots in PM&R. Dr. Dimitru (sp?), the program director, wrote the book on EMG. I believe he is or will be president of the AAPMR, or at least one of its leaders. Dr. Walsh is also a big shot who is involved nationally. Having them in your corner I am sure can open doors.

2. Which one is stronger in which areas?

Baylor is top-notch in spinal cord, TBI, and in general strong in inpatient (peds, etc.) areas. A lot of this is because of TIRR, the rehab hospital, is one of the best in the country (ranked 2 according to reputation in US News and World Report). Apparently, the program has been envolving, like the rest of the country, to include more outpatient exposure.

San Antonio is great in EMG and pain for sure. It appears solid in other areas also.

What is a strong Step I score for each program?

Who knows. Impossible to tell. I had a good score on step 1, but I felt that step 1 scores were not that big of a deal.

How competitive is each program?

I would guess similiarly not too competive. Evaluating the numbers, I would guess that Baylor gets more applications, but has a lot more slots to give. From memory, Baylor interviewed around 96 for 14 slots (including UT-Houston); whereas San Antonio interviews 35 or so for 4-6 slots (not really sure). I know that some of Baylor's previous residents were FMGs, but both programs filled last year and will in the future.

Here is my break-down of the differences. Size: Baylor is a big program with a big-name. SA is smaller yet more personable. Length: SA is a four-year program, Baylor a three-year (a discussion in and of itself). San Antonio is in a smaller city, yet in a nice part of Texas (hill country, close to Austin). Baylor is in the 4th largest city in the US. Baylor: strong tradition in inpatient with well know free standing rehab center. SA: strong in outpatient, with strong medical school ties.

Compared to other programs, residents work harder during residency.

Hope this helps. These are only my observations, I am still learning about the field myself.
 
I don't really have much more to add because I thought all the above responses were extremely informative. When I was ranking programs a couple of years ago, I ranked both programs at roughly the same position. The strengths of the Baylor program was the reputation and the wealth of resources. I think that the Baylor program is more prestigious and would probably open more doors for you. However, I felt that the training (especially in outpatient physical medicine) at UTHSCSA was better. The main drawback for me (and probably everyone else not from San Antonio :) ) was the location. Also, many peope do not know about the excellent training you receive at San Antonio -- this includes Physiatrists as well.
 
Does anybody know anything about the program as St. Vincents in Manhattan?

And as in another one of my posts....

does anyone know of any programs that take students outside the match in Manhattan (i.e. Interns wanting to switch)
 
Hey all,

I thought that since the match process has started yet again, perhaps it would help those interested in PM&R by posting some info about some of the smaller PM&R programs out there, since less info is available about them.

I interviewed at two smaller programs that I really liked:
1. UC Davis: nice outpatient muskuloskeletal focus, 2 residents per class, pain fellowship jointly run by PM&R, Brian Davis, MD...who seems to be a very active resident advocate, beautiful hospital and amazing childrens hospital. I really liked this program and it seems to be considered a strong "up and coming" outpatient focused PM&R program.

Scutwork.com reviews:

Teaching: 7/10 Atmosphere: 10/10 Research: 7/10

Schedule

Seems like a typical load for a PM+R program- not too hard. Less inpatient focus than some of the more academic program. More comprehensive Pediatrics training than most, because of their affiliation with an excellent Shriner's Hospital.

Teaching

Young, energetic faculty. The residents all comment that the faculty treats them like peers.

Atmosphere

Outstanding- the residents seem very happy.

Conclusion

Excellent Peds focus. Weaker inpatient training. Excellent EMG. Needs improvement for injection training.

Medical Student
Click on link above to email this reviewer
Overall Rating: 29-Oct-2001

Teaching: 7/10 Atmosphere: 7/10 Research: 5/10

Schedule

I did an externship here during my 4th year. The residents and interns usually arrived around 8 A.M. and left at 5 P.M. There really isn't a ton of scutwork in PM&R. Call was something like Q7 during PGY-2, Q14 during PGY-3, and no call during PGY-4. The residents worked probably about 50 hours/week.

Teaching

The program was small, but all the attendings were great. You worked in the Ortho department, Shrine (for Peds), and Anesthesia department. Since the program was very small, I think the didatic sessions were limited.

Atmosphere

Everyone got along really well. The residents all seemed very happy and competent.

Conclusion

I like working at the UCDMC. The program had an oupatient focus and this seems to be the trend for PM&R. While the California programs are generally regarded as mediocre, I thought UC Davis had a solid program. I didn't really like the city of Sacramento and more focus on learning interventional pain management would've been nice.


2. Indiana University: again, small class size, Drs. Braddom and Buschbacher are big names. The residents seemed very happy. Looked like solid MSK exposure and plenty of opportunities for moonlighting. Indianapolis was a big drawback for me, but if you have a family this could be perfect for you.

SCUTWORK.COM REVIEW:

Teaching: 9/10 Atmosphere: 10/10 Research: 8/10

Schedule

A typical day is dependent on whether you are doing an inpatient or outpatient service. Our program is 50% inpatient and 50% outpatient divided very nicely throughout the PGY2-4 years. Inpatient days start about 8am with group rounding, followed by a half hour to hour team conference twice a week. After conference, the remainder of the day is divided by finishing any progress notes, admits,consults, and observing therapy. Average day is over at 4:30-5pm. Mondays are an exception in that our afternoon is entirely devoted to lectures. We are excused from our rotations at noon to attend our lecture series (noon-4 or 5). An outpatient rotation is much more variable. Days begin anywhere from 9-10am and go at times until 6 or 6:30. However, there are often half days or even days off where clinic is not scheduled. We use this time to our best interest, which could be working on a research project, attending recommended half day communtity education experiences, or whatever is of priority. Scutwork is at a bare minimum! Our attendings do not depend on us to do their work. For instance, if a guest lecturer is coming to the university, we have no problems getting off our rotation to attend the lecture.

Teaching

Faculty is all readily available, and actively involved in our Monday afternoon lecture series. Dr. Buschbacher and Dr. Braddom are both a strong point to our program. Their expertise and strong interest in teaching is a bonus. We do have exams to take at the end of each lecture series, which are excellent board review. We are allowed 1 week of conference time a year. We also get to go to the Northwestern O&P conference--our conference fee and hotel are paid for.

Atmosphere

Currently with seven residents and a max of nine, our program is very "close knit". For example, once a month the attendings and residents all go out to dinner after our grand rounds lecture. In addition, our spouses/SOs are always welcome to join us. Our department secretaries are very helpful and friendly--email us and call us with any useful information. In all, I can say I am very happy with my decision to come to IU. I have no difficulty exercising 6 days a week, while attending to all other daily tasks. Our call is home call--one week at a time. We do about 7-8 of these a year. We are expected to round on the weekends, and then cover call at home during the week. On a rare occasion, we do need to come in and see a patient if they are critically ill. In addition, we also have moonlighting opportunities available in PM&R.

Conclusion

If you are interested in a small, academic, friendly program, with civil hours, I highly recommend IU PM&R. I feel I will be prepared to practice any area of PM&R once graduated. Indianapolis is a big medical community which provides our residency with vast opportunities for education in the field of PM&R.

anyway, hope this is of use to somebody. Perhaps Stinky and Drusso would add to the thread?

regards.
 
i think that the mount sinai program is the strongest bc it is the only one that is accredited by both spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury model systems. no other program in new york city is a model systems program, to my knowledge. it makes a difference to train in a program that provides superior clinical care- it trains you to become a better doctor. through clinical mentorship by great clinicians.
 
is it just me, or have I missed something? What rehab programs in florida?
 
No, you didn't miss anything. There are no rehab programs in Florida. Although, word on the street is U. Miami is seriously recruiting in hopes of creating a residency program in the near future.
 
Actually, there's a program listed in FREIDA in Tampa/Univ of South Florida. Must be new...

Wes
 
Does anybody have information on the program. What is the area like? What have you heard about the program. ANything would be helpful because I know very little about the program. Thanks
 
Having been a resident at two programs, SCI fellow and attending at Rusk, Columbia, Columbia/Cornell and Mount Sinai(not necessarily in that order), I know the strengths and weaknesses of the NYC programs at a very personal level. These are some of my impressions-I hope they might help someone.

The greatest strength at Columbia/Cornell is the program director, who creates a nurturing environment where young physicians who work hard and want to learn, whether they are female or male, MD or DO, American or foreign grad, are treated as if they are worth educating in the different aspects of rehab medicine.

The greatest strength at Mount Sinai is the clinical mentorship by dedicated attendings whose example will train you to think independently and manage complex medical problems. They also earn their TBI/SCI model systems status with abounding clinical research opportunities in those areas.

The most important thing to do is to follow your heart to a place where you feel comfortable to thrive. Figure out what your priorities are for now and the future. The process never ends, at least for me. I am still trying to figure out what I want to do and I believe that every experience I have had so far has taught me something I needed to learn.
 
Does anyone have any suggestions or knowledge of any? Specifically one that do not bust your A$$ with call. I know this is a long shot, but perhaps any with less than 60hrs a week?
 
Is the FREIDA website misleading? It say avg hours on duty to be 60hrs. and max time on call to be 30hrs.
 
St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois (just north of the Chicago border).

Probably one of the top five cush TYs in the country.

I am doing my Internship at St. Francis this year and could not ask for anything better.
 
Personally, I'd recommend against a "cush" program. I did 9 months internal medicine, 3 surgery as part of a 4 year PM&R program. That education has proven invaluable. Been practicing 2 years now.
 
Hello everyone...

As I am going through the residency process this year and looking at PM&R programs, I have been neglecting the process regarding the transitional year or prelim year I would need to do for a 2,3,4 program. I was wondering if anyone could give me suggestions as to what they thought of the programs they applied to. And if possible I could contact you guys for more advice regarding this and PM&R as well...

Thanks and hope to speak to more of you very soon.

Qamar

MS4
 
Just wanted to see if anyone here has any ideas to help me? I though we were a team here...

Qamar
 
When applying to either TY or prelim med programs, will it look bad or frowned upon to apply to both the TY and prelim med programs at the same hospital or university? Or should I coose up front whether to apply to either the TY or the prelim to that particular place?

Thanks for eveyone's help so far. I look forward to the responses...

Qamar
 
Originally posted by qdog
When applying to either TY or prelim med programs, will it look bad or frowned upon to apply to both the TY and prelim med programs at the same hospital or university? Or should I coose up front whether to apply to either the TY or the prelim to that particular place?

Thanks for eveyone's help so far. I look forward to the responses...

Qamar
Click to expand...

Nope. Applying to TY's and Prelims in Medicine is fine.
 
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