PM&R 2010 Residency Match: More Competitive? More Desirable? THE NEW Radiology?

[MedBronc23]

I am a HO-1/intern at a midwestern tertiary care hospital doing internal medicine for my Pre-Lim Year. I have been helping out with our residency applicant dinners & interviews more this month since I am on GI and it is a slower service for my hospital...unless you need an emergent diarrhea work-up...joking.

Many of the applicants have asked me what I am going into and where I matched. I tell them PM&R and Mayo Rochester. Many have told me that a lot of their classmates are doing PM&R and it is getting much harder to match. I think this is great for our specialty. I just have not had any pre-lim applicants for PM&R come through to interview at our program here. We have always had 1-2 PM&R prelims per year, which I think is great. Especially since the city/state I am doing internship in does not have a PM&R residency.

My question is if residents already in there PM&R residencies, staff, or Program Directors/MDs involved in PM&R residency programs have seen better quality and increased quantity of applicants the last 2 years.

Frankly, I think an influx of young, passionate M.Ds interested in increasing the exposure, knowledge base, and overall face of PM&R to the world and medical community is great. I hope PM&R is becoming the new Radiology or Anesthesiology and not still a default for Ortho rejects.

I had excellent board scores (could have matched to Ortho, Rads, Gas, ect...prob not DERM and I chose PM&R because I loved it. I just am hoping that we are attracting bright, passionate docs who love the field. Also not because it is "Plenty of Money and Relaxation" specialty.

Thoughts?

Lord, deliver me from the man who never makes a mistake, and also from the man who makes the same mistake twice.
William J. Mayo

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[Ludicolo]

My question is if residents already in there PM&R residencies, staff, or Program Directors/MDs involved in PM&R residency programs have seen better quality and increased quantity of applicants the last 2 years.

Frankly, I think an influx of young, passionate M.Ds interested in increasing the exposure, knowledge base, and overall face of PM&R to the world and medical community is great. I hope PM&R is becoming the new Radiology or Anesthesiology and not still a default for Ortho rejects.

I had excellent board scores (could have matched to Ortho, Rads, Gas, ect...prob not DERM and I chose PM&R because I loved it. I just am hoping that we are attracting bright, passionate docs who love the field. Also not because it is "Plenty of Money and Relaxation" specialty.

Thoughts?

Absolutely. I have noticed an uptick in the quality of applicants in general. Higher board scores. A few AOA members. More research/publications, more volunteerism, more activism, more rehab exposure – some applicants have done 3-4 months of audition rehab rotations at different institutions. (Is there such a thing as a PM&R “gunner”?) Some of these applications would’ve blown mine out of the water. I have caught fewer and fewer “it's my second choice specialty” or “I'm just in it for the lifestyle” candidates. When interviewing, almost everyone seems to be genuinely knowledgeable and passionate about PM&R. Kinda refreshing, actually. Bodes well for our field.

The increase in competitiveness probably isn't such good news if you are a current or future applicant.

 

[fozzy40]

I definitely think that the level of competition is increasing especially at the bigger metropolitan cities or "popular" programs. Candidates are still in the position to match into PM&R if they are not limited by geography.

I would say that 75% of the students that I've toured and talked with at my institution are interested in sports medicine and/or pain medicine.

 

[Llenroc]

PM&R is not the "next Radiology". Let's keep stuff in perspective, before we all get laughed out of here.

1) PM&R has the lowest board scores of any specialty. Radiology is well above average.
2) Radiologists get $300K minimum out of residency, with potential to earn vastly more as partners. PM&R residents are lucky if they can sign for $150K.
3) PM&R still needs to recruit a lot of overseas grads and DO's just to fill. People here like to spin this as "PM&R is just more open minded than other specialties". But the reality is, if PM&R program directors could fill with 100% US MD's, then they would 10 times out of 10. Radiology takes few DO's or Caribbean grads.
4) Most people still don't know WTF PM&R is.

 

[fozzy40]

3) PM&R still needs to recruit a lot of overseas grads and DO's just to fill. People here like to spin this as "PM&R is just more open minded than other specialties". But the reality is, if PM&R program directors could fill with 100% US MD's, then they would 10 times out of 10. Radiology takes few DO's or Caribbean grads.
4) Most people still don't know WTF PM&R is.

Hopefully, we can rid the specialty of DOs and IMGs and really improve the quality of the field because that's the solution. Love the "there goes the neighborhood mentality!"

Long live elitism!

To the OP, I love that you are proud of who you are. Spread the word loud and far

 

[MedBronc23]

To Llenroc, I hope you are a rads person and not a physiatrist. That would be sad. Pmr does not have the lowest board scores according to last match stats. I do not think kicking the Imgs and dos out is the answer either. Both bring a great amount of perspective to the field. I think the biggest problem is the disparity in residency philosophies. I interviewed at >20 programs by choice not need. Wanting to see what was out there. Ultimately I thought there were only about 5 elite programs and 5 very good ones. Rest were all mediocre in some fashion. That is what needs to change. I will agree I was one of those interested in sports and pain people. Still am and not going to change. That being said I love the variety and sheer breadth of our field. Everytime I teach my med students on service about pm&r and/or show them how rehab medicine can improve the quality of life for a patient, i get a god response. Frankly, our field is not easy. We deal with debilitating pain, chronic and uncurable injury and illness, and very tough to love pt populations for most( fibro , sic, tbi, cp etc We should want best and brighter in our field and those who want to be physiatrists. Not ortho rejects. Glad to hear we r going the right way

 

[topwise]

Llenroc's evidence that PM&R can't ever be very competitive is that it isn't currently that competitive. That doesn't entirely make sense. Fields like anesthesiology have gone from having to beg residents to come to programs to being one of the most competitive fields.

That said, I don't think PM&R ever has the potential to be like radiology. I think of PM&R as more like psychiatry, in that it's a good field with a good lifestyle that pays well, but simply isn't glamorous enough to ever be *really* competitive. While doing fluoroscopic injections may be kind of glamorous, things like TBI, SCI, stroke, and chronic pain are not. And they don't pay enough to really dazzle med students.

I do think the field has to potential to grow a lot in popularity if word gets out that many physiatrists do Pain fellowships, since PM&R is a much more benign residency than anesthesia. But then again, I'm not sure if we *want* a bunch of residents who don't care about rehab and just want to be needle jockeys. I'd rather the field be smaller and occupied by people who like what they do.

Also, I hate to say it, but when you're job hunting, it's not such a great thing when the people in your field that you're competing against have shining resumes with ivy league schools, prestigious research, tons of publications, etc.

 

[fozzy40]

Historically, PM&R typically does have one of the lower average USMLE Step I and II scores along with Family Medicine and Psychiatry. This was a particularly heated topic in the mid-late 1970's when there was a projected shortage of physiatrists. In a profession where people like/love to show off the feathers in their cap, there is a group practitioners that might be "embarassed" or "ashamed" of these statistics. However, there is also another group within the field who do not think that Board Scores and AOA status necessarily translate into patient care and serving as a leader in a team-based specialty.

Medicine does fluctuate as topwise has alluded in terms of what is considered "popular" and/or "competitive." So who knows what the future holds for PM&R. I do agree that PM&R will not likely be "the next radiology." However, I philosophically have a problem have an issue defining "my success" (not making a generalization to field or anyone on the board) by comparing it to another field with outcome measures that focus on money, lifestyle, reputation, and non-patient centered care. But, welcome to America where the first 3 issues usually do rule the day.

At the end of the day, we should focus our energies on our field (i.e. outcome research) to show the rest of medicine that we are the best at what we do versus we are "as good" what other people do.

Love PM&R and wouldn't change it for the world

 

[PMR 4 MSK]

Nothing Llenroc is far off the mark. PM&R has historically been at or near the bottom of the USMLE scores. Last time I checked it was second only to psychiatry.

PDs unfortunately care as much about stats as they do the personallities of their residents. No PD can say to another "Yeah? You got better average scores for your residents? Well my residents have more extra-curricular activities than yours. And they are nicer guys. So there!"

And they do want allopathic US grads the most. PM&R does admit more DOs than any other specialty on a %age basis, and that is probably more a function of the fit they make with PM&R than what could be explained purely by lack of US MDs. From what I've seen, the % of PM&R residents coming from DO backgrounds has been rising dramatically in recent years. I would suspect it is due to awareness on the DO students part as much as anything.

Raise awareness of PM&R and give students the chance to experience it more and I guarantee more will apply for it.

And while IMGs in PM&R by itself is not a problem, most of them I have known did not have PM&R as their first choice. Many were in other fields back home and could not get in to the same field here, so chose the easier route and got into PM&R. That is disheartening to me.

 

[fozzy40]

And while IMGs in PM&R by itself is not a problem, most of them I have known did not have PM&R as their first choice. Many were in other fields back home and could not get in to the same field here, so chose the easier route and got into PM&R. That is disheartening to me.

I agree that it is disheartening that some IMGs did choose PM&R as a backup. These physicians have such a difficult time applying in the US for the same specialty simply because they graduated overseas. I understand that there has to be some sort of process since it is difficult to determine the competency of physicians from unfamiliar programs. However, the system is clearly designed to keep them out and/or make it extremely difficult to do so.
This to me is disheartening as well.

 

[specepic]

PM&R is not the "next Radiology". Let's keep stuff in perspective, before we all get laughed out of here.

1) PM&R has the lowest board scores of any specialty. Radiology is well above average.
2) Radiologists get $300K minimum out of residency, with potential to earn vastly more as partners. PM&R residents are lucky if they can sign for $150K.
3) PM&R still needs to recruit a lot of overseas grads and DO's just to fill. People here like to spin this as "PM&R is just more open minded than other specialties". But the reality is, if PM&R program directors could fill with 100% US MD's, then they would 10 times out of 10. Radiology takes few DO's or Caribbean grads.
4) Most people still don't know WTF PM&R is.

What is your source for salary data? Sounds low based on any recent grads I know

I think a lot of DOs get/go into PM&R b/c they tend to make great physiatrists and getting a lot of MSK exposure in med school.

 

[Brooklyndo2.1]

What is your source for salary data? Sounds low based on any recent grads I know

I think a lot of DOs get/go into PM&R b/c they tend to make great physiatrists and getting a lot of MSK exposure in med school.

i was recently job hunting , wound up doing a tbi fellowship next year so im obviously in it for the money but here is an idea of offers I was getting in the NYC/NJ Penn area:

private physiatry interventional group looking for non interventional pain management guy : 160 plus 20 % partner track in two years

nyc more of a concierge practice for msk/ prolo/prp /sports/emg omm (I'm a DO obviosly) 180 k plus 30%

lowball offer in maryland by a geriatric group who didnt know how to bill for physiatry : 140k

academic/clinical 50/50 split 160 k
i can go on...
average was about 160k with not much call if any, and I was looking for jobs where i can be involved with residents so low balling myself as it is (read clinical teaching).

if anyone has more info or specifics feel free to jump in.
I was looking tentatively at offers in not "desirable" meaning non metro locations for 200k+ usually as the most common.

 

[ihaveaquestion]

That's better than I expected, actually. Thanks for sharing!

i was recently job hunting , wound up doing a tbi fellowship next year so im obviously in it for the money but here is an idea of offers I was getting in the NYC/NJ Penn area:

private physiatry interventional group looking for non interventional pain management guy : 160 plus 20 % partner track in two years

nyc more of a concierge practice for msk/ prolo/prp /sports/emg omm (I'm a DO obviosly) 180 k plus 30%

lowball offer in maryland by a geriatric group who didnt know how to bill for physiatry : 140k

academic/clinical 50/50 split 160 k
i can go on...
average was about 160k with not much call if any, and I was looking for jobs where i can be involved with residents so low balling myself as it is (read clinical teaching).

if anyone has more info or specifics feel free to jump in.
I was looking tentatively at offers in not "desirable" meaning non metro locations for 200k+ usually as the most common.

 

[radtopedi]

hey guys,

I just started trolling recently when I was contemplating a switch from rads and saw this site, and couldn't help but make a few comments since I'm on vacation and have nothing to do

1)regarding: another field with outcome measures that "focus on money, lifestyle, reputation, and non-patient centered care"
we don't want those people either, I hate money grubbers in every field and they will generally hang people out to dry to make an extra buck including patients, such an attitude typically prevails in people going into high powered fields, and because radiology is classically the "diagnostic field" it makes for a reputation of lazy, greedy uncarring people; the majority (though not the vast majority) are very caring people, who go into pediatric radiology, interventional oncology, neurointervention (though typically have an attitude of neurosurgeons or worse), who don't do it

2)I too have noticed an increase in the quality of PMR residents, both through colleagues and through the med students that I've worked with, now I'm not a physiatrist, but I feel as if DOs are not a detrement, and probably well suited to PMR, just like they are to ortho, most FMGs who come here to train and manage to secure a residency are probably smarter then any 2 allopathic US grads put together, (the carribean schools are more of a toss up, but many people that I've worked with from caribbean schools are canadian or from another country where it's very hard to get into medical school to begin with, and could get in to a US school, and many I've talked to had interviews and acceptances at US schools, but decided to go to the tropics for financial reasons)

3)People should not choose to do PMR (or any field) just because they want to do a pain (or any other) fellowship, I did that with rads to do IR, and am now switching residencies which is a gigantic pain, gotta like the base specialty as that is going to be a good chunk of what you are going to be doing

4)there is nothing wrong with wanting to make lots of money, we work hard, and deserve a little bit of a reward in my opinion, however if you start directing your training towards that end, and not focus on what you love you will screw yourself over because you're going to be a rich and miserable person, and medicine is too big a commitment and part of our lives that doing something for 60-80 hours a week for the money is just not going to equal a very happy person.

 

[drusso]

PM&R is one of those fields that has always had "a bright future..."

 

[goosequacks]

Raise awareness of PM&R and give students the chance to experience it more and I guarantee more will apply for it.

Well said!!! ) )

 

[jdh71]

On the topic of PM&R prelims . . . my experience in my three years in IM has been that probably the best IM prelims have been the PM&R guys (notable is also ophtho and derm), and that the aspiring gas trolls are lazy as ****, barely moreso than the radiology prelims moping around . . . Basically, I think the heart and personality of the PM&R person is one interested in being an actual physician

*gasp*

yeah, I just said that . . . probably won't get flamed here though

 

[Ludicolo]

On the topic of PM&R prelims . . . my experience in my three years in IM has been that probably the best IM prelims have been the PM&R guys (notable is also ophtho and derm), and that the aspiring gas trolls are lazy as ****, barely moreso than the radiology prelims moping around . . . Basically, I think the heart and personality of the PM&R person is one interested in being an actual physician

*gasp*

yeah, I just said that . . . probably won't get flamed here though

Not by us. But from the rads and “gas trolls”…

 

[jdh71]

Not by us. But from the rads and “gas trolls”…

Truth hurts

 

[youngdoc8205]

Sour grapes are suprisinbitter

 

[jdh71]

Sour grapes are suprisinbitter

Wait. Wut? Who's sour?

 

[bronx43]

The biggest contributor to "competitiveness" of a certain specialty is money. Pure and simple. Lifestyle is certainly a factor, but that's ancillary at best compared to the Almighty dollar. What else separates rad onc and radiology from psychiatry and family medicine? The lifestyles are comparable.

With that in mind, the only way pm&r can reach radiology realm is if radiology reimbursement gets slashed six ways to sunday, OR pm&r reimbursements skyrocket. Of the two, I don't think you need me to explain which is more likely.

 

[jdh71]

The biggest contributor to "competitiveness" of a certain specialty is money. Pure and simple. Lifestyle is certainly a factor, but that's ancillary at best compared to the Almighty dollar. What else separates rad onc and radiology from psychiatry and family medicine? The lifestyles are comparable.

With that in mind, the only way pm&r can reach radiology realm is if radiology reimbursement gets slashed six ways to sunday, OR pm&r reimbursements skyrocket. Of the two, I don't think you need me to explain which is more likely.

only so much money to go around, rad's pay has nowhere to go but down :-/

 

[end stage fibro]

hm....so will jobs be offering ferraris as a signing bonus, or straight cash?

 

[Ludicolo]

hm....so will jobs be offering ferraris as a signing bonus, or straight cash?

Yeah I'm sorry, I can't afford a Ferrari.
But that don't mean I can't get you there.

 

[bronx43]

only so much money to go around, rad's pay has nowhere to go but down :-/

Right, exactly. I think that in a contractionary situation (one that this country will soon encounter), primary care will fare the best, since they have the most direct influence on patients. Also, given the advent of disruptive technologies, they will be able to undercut specialists and provide more affordable care. Ultra-specialized fields like rad onc may all but die out, due to their lack of versatility and low cost effectiveness. Whatever changes that occur, status quo will not be an option.

 

[bedrock]

primary care will fare the best,

Right, since primary care has fared the best for the past hundred years and the system will turn itself completely on its head? Get real-
The only constant in modern medicine is that specialists who do procedures get paid more than primary care thinkers. Obama may be able to slightly diminish the significant disparity between primary care and specialist incomes,
but it's naive to think that "primary care will fare the best".
Primary care doesn't even fare the best in countries with socialized medicine-

 

[bronx43]

Right, since primary care has fared the best for the past hundred years and the system will turn itself completely on its head? Get real-
The only constant in modern medicine is that specialists who do procedures get paid more than primary care thinkers. Obama may be able to slightly diminish the significant disparity between primary care and specialist incomes,
but it's naive to think that "primary care will fare the best".
Primary care doesn't even fare the best in countries with socialized medicine-

Modern medicine? You mean the distorted market of American health care? By what market force are you determining that procedures should or will continued to be paid more than primary care medicine? The existence of third party payers negate the ability of anyone to make any monetary value assignment to any service provided.
In contractionary economies (of course my entire argument is predicated on the view of either destruction of the USD through continued debt and deflationary pressures with subsequent rounds of continuous QE, or destruction of the economy through austerity measures), money and resources will be scarce, and aggregate demand for health care services will inevitably decline. This, obviously, won't be uniformly distributed for all services, as the priority will become cost control and cost effectiveness. Expensive care that offer decreasing returns will naturally see their market share plummet, as consumers will seek cheaper, more cost-effective care. And as I stated before, the advent of disruptive technologies (read Clay Christenson's theory on disruptive technology and its effect on incumbent members of an industry) will provide said cheaper alternative.
Of course, it's also entirely possible that the government will take the lead in drastic cost control and cut reimbursements heavily until there is parity amongst medical specialties. In this situation, primary care wouldn't fare better, but they wouldn't be worse.
And it's entirely false that primary care is worse off in socialistic systems. From where are you drawing your information?

 

[PMR 4 MSK]

Modern medicine? You mean the distorted market of American health care? By what market force are you determining that procedures should or will continued to be paid more than primary care medicine? The existence of third party payers negate the ability of anyone to make any monetary value assignment to any service provided.
In contractionary economies (of course my entire argument is predicated on the view of either destruction of the USD through continued debt and deflationary pressures with subsequent rounds of continuous QE, or destruction of the economy through austerity measures), money and resources will be scarce, and aggregate demand for health care services will inevitably decline. This, obviously, won't be uniformly distributed for all services, as the priority will become cost control and cost effectiveness. Expensive care that offer decreasing returns will naturally see their market share plummet, as consumers will seek cheaper, more cost-effective care. And as I stated before, the advent of disruptive technologies (read Clay Christenson's theory on disruptive technology and its effect on incumbent members of an industry) will provide said cheaper alternative.
Of course, it's also entirely possible that the government will take the lead in drastic cost control and cut reimbursements heavily until there is parity amongst medical specialties. In this situation, primary care wouldn't fare better, but they wouldn't be worse.
And it's entirely false that primary care is worse off in socialistic systems. From where are you drawing your information?

I agree with everything except your colloquial use of the word "reimbursements." Physicians are only reimbursed for things they have paid for - medical supplies, e.g. We are paid for our services.

I believe this phrase came into being from the old system of the patient being reimbursed by the insurance company for the money they paid the doctor. Doctors then started having the patients reassign the "reimbursement" to the doctors - i.e. the insurance paid us directly.

Doctors need to stop thinking of this as "reimbursement" as the word implies we have sunk costs and are trying to retrieve them. What we are really doing is trying to get paid for our services.

<Steps off soapbox...>

 

[Llenroc]

Our Bronx buddy hasn't even got an MD yet, and already he's a pro on lecturing people about the realities of modern medicine.

 

[bronx43]

Our Bronx buddy hasn't even got an MD yet, and already he's a pro on lecturing people about the realities of modern medicine.

Haha, is this joker serious? I mean, what exclusive, profound insight on the financial future of medicine, in the context of a national and global economy, does a MD offer you? I really want to know, because I see this hilariously pathetic ad hominem on this forum all the time. I've spent my time on health care consulting projects in my previous career, and these were issues we dealt with all the time. What exactly does a degree, whose only purpose is certification of the practice of medicine, offer you on this topic? If I had simply changed my status to resident, would you just have shut up? If you actually have insight to add, then I am all ears, but I suspect you don't.

 

[Bombesin]

And boom goes the dynamite...

 

[deleted307836]

Haha, is this joker serious? I mean, what exclusive, profound insight on the financial future of medicine, in the context of a national and global economy, does a MD offer you? I really want to know, because I see this hilariously pathetic ad hominem on this forum all the time. I've spent my time on health care consulting projects in my previous career, and these were issues we dealt with all the time. What exactly does a degree, whose only purpose is certification of the practice of medicine, offer you on this topic? If I had simply changed my status to resident, would you just have shut up? If you actually have insight to add, then I am all ears, but I suspect you don't.

 

[Llenroc]

Haha, is this joker serious? I mean, what exclusive, profound insight on the financial future of medicine, in the context of a national and global economy, does a MD offer you? I really want to know, because I see this hilariously pathetic ad hominem on this forum all the time. I've spent my time on health care consulting projects in my previous career, and these were issues we dealt with all the time. What exactly does a degree, whose only purpose is certification of the practice of medicine, offer you on this topic? If I had simply changed my status to resident, would you just have shut up? If you actually have insight to add, then I am all ears, but I suspect you don't.

Look, nobody here gives a rat's ass what you did in your former career. There's medical students out there that know a thing or two about medical economics/business, and then there's boobs like you.

 

[bronx43]

Look, nobody here gives a rat's ass what you did in your former career. There's medical students out there that know a thing or two about medical economics/business, and then there's boobs like you.

Come back when you actually have something to say. Ok, little buddy?

 

[rehab_sports_dr]

getting back to the original questions

I've seen the quality of candidates improve in objective measures (board scores, AOA, research exposure, etc), but the biggest improvement I've seen is in familiarity of the field. The applicants I've seen generally have a pretty good understanding of what PM&R is- that is a change from 5 years ago

I do think the SDN Community deserves accolades here. While SDN is not a perfect resource, I think it does help potential residents learn more about the field in a way that was simply not possible when I was a medical student

So, thanks SDN, for producing better PM&R candidates

 

[jdh71]

Modern medicine? You mean the distorted market of American health care? By what market force are you determining that procedures should or will continued to be paid more than primary care medicine? The existence of third party payers negate the ability of anyone to make any monetary value assignment to any service provided.
In contractionary economies (of course my entire argument is predicated on the view of either destruction of the USD through continued debt and deflationary pressures with subsequent rounds of continuous QE, or destruction of the economy through austerity measures), money and resources will be scarce, and aggregate demand for health care services will inevitably decline. This, obviously, won't be uniformly distributed for all services, as the priority will become cost control and cost effectiveness. Expensive care that offer decreasing returns will naturally see their market share plummet, as consumers will seek cheaper, more cost-effective care. And as I stated before, the advent of disruptive technologies (read Clay Christenson's theory on disruptive technology and its effect on incumbent members of an industry) will provide said cheaper alternative.
Of course, it's also entirely possible that the government will take the lead in drastic cost control and cut reimbursements heavily until there is parity amongst medical specialties. In this situation, primary care wouldn't fare better, but they wouldn't be worse.
And it's entirely false that primary care is worse off in socialistic systems. From where are you drawing your information?

Your point here is very well taken. Procedures have nowhere to go but down, and as the amount of money being paid to specialists goes down, more and more specialists stop doing these procedures (if they can) because it stops being worth their time and energy.

In the future there will still be a few established niche guys in the procedural world who will continue to do really, really well, but the rest medical salaries begin to move closer and closer towards each other, especially radiology and anesthesia.

 

[DeeV021]

Hi,
I am wanting to do PM&R. I just got my Step 1 back, 204. I haven't gotten my Comlex back yet, I'm a DO student. I got my doctorate in physical therapy before med school and worked with physiatrists, which is why I want to do physiatry. Will my 204 prevent me from getting a PM&R residemcy?

 

[sloh]

No, it definitely won't. I personally know an applicant who failed the usmle step 1 and still got interviews at mayo, spaulding, emory and other very impressive programs

 

[drusso]

I am a HO-1/intern at a midwestern tertiary care hospital doing internal medicine for my Pre-Lim Year. I have been helping out with our residency applicant dinners & interviews more this month since I am on GI and it is a slower service for my hospital...unless you need an emergent diarrhea work-up...joking.

Many of the applicants have asked me what I am going into and where I matched. I tell them PM&R and Mayo Rochester. Many have told me that a lot of their classmates are doing PM&R and it is getting much harder to match. I think this is great for our specialty. I just have not had any pre-lim applicants for PM&R come through to interview at our program here. We have always had 1-2 PM&R prelims per year, which I think is great. Especially since the city/state I am doing internship in does not have a PM&R residency.

My question is if residents already in there PM&R residencies, staff, or Program Directors/MDs involved in PM&R residency programs have seen better quality and increased quantity of applicants the last 2 years.

Frankly, I think an influx of young, passionate M.Ds interested in increasing the exposure, knowledge base, and overall face of PM&R to the world and medical community is great. I hope PM&R is becoming the new Radiology or Anesthesiology and not still a default for Ortho rejects.

I had excellent board scores (could have matched to Ortho, Rads, Gas, ect...prob not DERM and I chose PM&R because I loved it. I just am hoping that we are attracting bright, passionate docs who love the field. Also not because it is "Plenty of Money and Relaxation" specialty.

Thoughts?

Lord, deliver me from the man who never makes a mistake, and also from the man who makes the same mistake twice.
William J. Mayo

Any follow-up 5 years later?

 

[MedBronc23]

All PM&R spots matched in 2014, with many other top specialities like ortho leaving scramble spots.

Don't quote me but this last year had very few open PM&R spots. Like 97% fill rate (don't quote me)

So I think getting more competitive...not sure compared to rads and GAS match rates and stats like scores publications research # programs and specialities ranked

PM&R is a top speciality for not just quality of life but also for pay per hours worked and call or no call burden

It and all it's subspecialties align every well with the future of healthcare in the US given the advent of MSK US, more procedures being performed percutaneously than surgically (FAST, tenotomy, CTS release, biceps tendon release, nerve hydro dissection) to name a few.

Plus better outcomes with rehab

And PM&R at forefront of regenerative neuromuscular MSK and pain medicine with PMR scientists like Jay Smith, Chris Centeno, mederic hall,Gerry malanga, Ken Mautner, Kevin Sampson, Joanne Borg stein, Arthur de luigi, Jon Finnoff and countless others that are paving way for PMR to be leaders in regenerative medicine and interventional pain and non surgical orthopedics

Just my two cents

PS many great applicants fail or have to take a step again...if rather have someone who fails and ricks it again and Durant have personal red flags than a smart person That's a jerk and bad with patients colleagues or reckless

There are many people in many top specialities that have overcome a failure to be excellent docs that match to top programs not just in PM&R

 

[DeeV021]

Hey, I have a question . I've been looking at fellowships in physiatry and have seen fellowships and sports medicine and also an interventional spine. I've also seen some fellowships that offer sports and interventional spine together in one fellowship what is the difference between the individual one & the combined one because I am interested in both of those fellowships in order to treat pain of lumbar and cervical Origin hopefully in conjunction with the physical therapy clinic attached to it

Also, how much training during residency or a sports medicine fellowship in pm&r just focused on the sacroiliac joint

 

[DeeV021]

What fellowships in pm&r are involved in the regenerative medicine aspect? How can I get involved in that if I were to match into pm&r?

QUOTE="MedBronc23, post: 16757843, member: 262209"]All PM&R spots matched in 2014, with many other top specialities like ortho leaving scramble spots.

Don't quote me but this last year had very few open PM&R spots. Like 97% fill rate (don't quote me)

So I think getting more competitive...not sure compared to rads and GAS match rates and stats like scores publications research # programs and specialities ranked

PM&R is a top speciality for not just quality of life but also for pay per hours worked and call or no call burden

It and all it's subspecialties align every well with the future of healthcare in the US given the advent of MSK US, more procedures being performed percutaneously than surgically (FAST, tenotomy, CTS release, biceps tendon release, nerve hydro dissection) to name a few.

Plus better outcomes with rehab

And PM&R at forefront of regenerative neuromuscular MSK and pain medicine with PMR scientists like Jay Smith, Chris Centeno, mederic hall,Gerry malanga, Ken Mautner, Kevin Sampson, Joanne Borg stein, Arthur de luigi, Jon Finnoff and countless others that are paving way for PMR to be leaders in regenerative medicine and interventional pain and non surgical orthopedics

Just my two cents

PS many great applicants fail or have to take a step again...if rather have someone who fails and ricks it again and Durant have personal red flags than a smart person That's a jerk and bad with patients colleagues or reckless

There are many people in many top specialities that have overcome a failure to be excellent docs that match to top programs not just in PM&R[/QUOTE]

 

[DeeV021]

Do physiatrists open up private practice outpatient clinics or do they usually need to be partnered with orthopedics ?

 

[lobelsteve]

Do physiatrists open up private practice outpatient clinics or do they usually need to be partnered with orthopedics ?

Www.stevenlobel.com

 

[Kissmyabjj]

Www.stevenlobel.com

Wow. Your practice is like 15 minutes from me.

 

[lobelsteve]

Wow. Your practice is like 15 minutes from me.

Visit.

 

[Kissmyabjj]

Visit.

Lol! Just PM'd you.