PM&R 3rd year rotation question...

[blackadder]

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I did a search and nothing came up that answered my question...so here goes...

I'm starting my rotations in the summer and my school offers PM&R rotations for interested students in the third year...and I was lucky enough to get one. However, you're either assigned to do adult PM&R or peds PM&R for the whole rotation and I was placed in the peds PM&R rotation. I'm really excited to experience peds PM&R but I wonder if I'd be missing something by not doing the adult rotation. I'm interested in many fields of medicine so I'm hoping that this rotation will help me recognize if PM&R is something I want to pursue further. So to all the residents and attendings out there: if you were in my position, which one would you pick and why? I love to hear the pros/cons of each. Thanks in advance.

If it matters, the peds site is at a big/freestanding pediatric hospital and the adult site is solid as well (I'm not sure of the inpatient/outpatient breakdowns though). Within PM&R my rough interests are sports, peds, spine, and cardiac/oncology rehab.

Thanks in advance.

 

[fozzy40]

Honestly, peds was one of my favorite rotations! Depending on the population, you can see a wide range of pathology:
- strike
- TBI
- SCI
- cerebral palsy
- prosthetics/orthotics
- cancer rehabilitation
- spina bifida

Kids are awesome! No pretense they are just kids. Parents are a different story but it's a great specialty. Same issues just different population. You'll have a great time!

 

[PMR 4 MSK]

So to all the residents and attendings out there: if you were in my position, which one would you pick and why? I love to hear the pros/cons of each. Thanks in advance.

I'd do adult. Most PM&R is on adults - CVA, SCI, TBI, amputees, MS, MD, etc. Yes, kids get all that too, but you'll see a different population than you'll see for most of your residency, and likely, career.

Some Physiatrists see kids, some don't. I don't, mainly because I hate the creatures that bring them in - the parents. Parents of kids with pain or disabilities often don't want to be bothered doing what the kid needs, it's what is convienient for the parent.

 

[oreosandsake]

you might like it a lot!

I did a month of pedi rehab as an away rotation during my 4th year. This was after already having a lot of exposure to adult inpatient and outpatient PM&R.

I saw a lot of patients with spasticity and gait abnormalities. It was a great and fulfilling experience. You will see how a piece of plastic - an orthotic - can make a dramatic impact in a child's life. I also injected a ton of botox which was neat and freshened me up on functional anatomy.

pedi rehab is also an area of pm&r that is in great demand. ex: when I went to a large NY program to interview, the PD mentioned that they were looking for a pediatric physiatrist and jokingly said that if any of us were interested in the work, he would offer us a job contract that day.

oh, and to your question: are you going to miss something?
since they are both inpatient, I don't think you will miss a whole lot. you will get a different case mix, skewed towards cerebal palsy, spina bifida, etc but you should still get the SCI, TBI, Stroke cases you would see during an inpt general pm&r experience.