PM&R sounds Great! So why is it not as competitive?

[bbaggins]

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I have a friend who is currently doing his residency in PM&R and he has been getting me really interested in it. From what I've heard, it sounds like a great field and at this point the one I'm most interested in. Great hours, you get to help people improve their quality of life, it covers a wide range of body systems, etc... I seriously get excited just thinking about being able to do this kind of work.

What I don't get is why it is not as competitive. Is there something I'm missing? If anyone would be willing to enlighten me on this that would be awesome.

 

[DOctorJay]

Most students don't get exposure to PMR early enough and therefore don't choose the field. I'm sure there are many neurologists and sports med trained FPs who would have loved to do PMR if they knew about it (I know a few myself). I know of a couple Ortho residents who switched to PMR as well.

The field is much more competitive now though than in the past, especially at the top programs. This forum is a gold mine of information and mentors.

 

[PMR2008]

I have a friend who is currently doing his residency in PM&R and he has been getting me really interested in it. From what I've heard, it sounds like a great field and at this point the one I'm most interested in. Great hours, you get to help people improve their quality of life, it covers a wide range of body systems, etc... I seriously get excited just thinking about being able to do this kind of work.

What I don't get is why it is not as competitive. Is there something I'm missing? If anyone would be willing to enlighten me on this that would be awesome.

I don't have actual statics on this but I think half of current PM&R residents were probably not aware of PM&R during the first 2 years of med school. Most become aware of it either through friends or family. Some might be told to order a PM&R consult during their internal medicine rotation, or might have seen a physiatrist during sports medicine or EMG rotations. Since the exposure is so late in the game most medical students are not able to set up rotations to get letters etc. PM&R attracts some highly competitive candidates from all the top medical schools in the US but still you might only see one medical student from Mayo, Hospkins, Harvard per year going into PM&R. Since there are 25-30 average to below average programs in the country they end up matching Caribbean grads or FMGs who might not have high USMLE scores. This makes PM&R seem more unattractive to some candidates. This is changing though as the field is getting more competitive.

Also PM&R is an extremely small field when comparing it to others. The last estimate I saw reported between 6500-7000 physiatrist in the US versus 150000 internal medicine or 25000 orthopedic surgeons. There is less glamor in PM&R versus dermatology/plastics/ortho etc.

 

[Louisville04]

I have a friend who is currently doing his residency in PM&R and he has been getting me really interested in it. From what I've heard, it sounds like a great field and at this point the one I'm most interested in. Great hours, you get to help people improve their quality of life, it covers a wide range of body systems, etc... I seriously get excited just thinking about being able to do this kind of work.

What I don't get is why it is not as competitive. Is there something I'm missing? If anyone would be willing to enlighten me on this that would be awesome.

I think financial renumeration plays a big role in competitiveness of a residency. Surgical specialities (ortho, ophtho, urology, etc) will always be very competitive due to salaries. PM&R makes a good salary (very good for some who do mostly procedures) compared to primary care.

 

[PMR 4 MSK]

I think financial renumeration plays a big role in competitiveness of a residency. Surgical specialities (ortho, ophtho, urology, etc) will always be very competitive due to salaries. PM&R makes a good salary (very good for some who do mostly procedures) compared to primary care.

And if CMS has it's way, and surgical payments are greatly reduced, how competitive will those specialties continue to be?

 

[MedBronc23]

Just attended AIUM conference here at MAYO on MSK US injections and diagnostics. The most common comment from the radiologists rheum docs and neurologists was how popular pm&r has become. It's the new anesthesia and the next rads