PM&R USMLE/ COMLEX SCORES

[DNAdude]

i am interested in a field of pm&r (physical medicine and rehab) and was wondering whats the range of scores that got candidates in. low and high....thanks

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[drusso]

Just passing on the first attempt should be fine...even at top programs.

 

[Hornet871]

Hey, Drusso, how competitive do you figure PM&R will be this year? I'm thinking of applying to a butt-hard field, but I'm wondering if PM&R will be available to scramble into if I fail to match in said butt-hard specialty.

What are your thoughts?

 

[godfather]

there were some very bright (i'm talking aoa) people that went into pmr. most of these people wanted to do something sports related or were females that wanted to start families and thus chose something that would allow them to do that.

 

[drusso]

PM&R filled 90%+ of their spots this year and applications at top programs were up almost 20%. Part of this increase is felt to be related to a waning interest in primary care, an increased interest in sports medicine, pain medicine, musculoskeletal and occupational medicine, and (of course) the lifestyle considerations for which PM&R is famous. The buzz among medical students is that the "cat is out of the bag" and more students are looking closely at the field. Last year in my transitional year program someone switched from a secured spot in radiology(!!) to PM&R...hard to believe, but true.

Bottom line is that the field is still well within the reach of candidates with average to low-average academic credentials as long as all the other pieces of their application (letters of rec from people in PM&R, knowledge and proven interest in the field, etc) are in place.

 

[DNAdude]

drusso or godfather
you guys think its a good idea to join aapmr as a medical student so program directors will see my interest in the field or is there a research pm&r spot that is available through physiatry.org or aapmr.org you guys would know of...
i know research is pretty significant in pm&r programs so how would you guys reccommed i get my hands and feet wet.

 

[godfather]

dude, you are just too gung ho. if it's pmr your going into and your graduating in the next couple of years just enjoy med school. if your going to do research do it if it interests you but if your doing it just to get a pmr spot ,your way overworking yourself and please don't tell other med students that your doing research to get a pmr spot because their going to laugh their asses of.

 

[leorl]

Do you think PM&R will be a viable option for IMGs (international grads) in the next 5 years or so? Right now it seems very uncompetitive, but competitiveness will probably increase during that time

 

[Stinky T]

I would agree that PM&R in general is still not very competitive. However, more and more AMGs are applying to the field each year and I expect that trend to continue. If you are interested in Interventional Physiatry (which it seems that all applicants are these days), there are only 5-6 solid programs in my opinion. These programs are competitive because many applicants want to match into these programs. Also, medical schools that have solid PM&R programs also have more of their own applicants applying and this makes matching into these programs even more difficult. For instance in the 2002 match, <a href="http://www.infoplex.nwu.edu/class/alumni/match/2002match.html" target="_blank">Northwestern matched</a> 3 of its 4 categorical spots to its own medical students, <a href="http://mcwmd.com/res/2002Stanford.doc" target="_blank">Stanford matched</a> 1 of its 3 spots to a Stanford medical student, etc. The bottom line is that as an AMG, you won't have a problem matching into a PM&R program. If you want to match into a top program, however, you will have to stand out.

 

[DNAdude]

hey stinky tofu or drusso
would you guys know the ranking of pm@r programs in the nation. On the physiatry web page there was only the program directors....any other location you guys could lead me to..thanks

 

[drusso]

US News and World Report ranks the top 20 rehabilitation hospitals like this:

1 Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (Northwestern)
2 The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, Houston (Baylor)
3 University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle
4 Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, West Orange, N.J.
5 Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
6 Craig Hospital, Englewood, Colo.
7 New York University Medical Center
8 Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus
9 Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia
10 Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, Downey, Calif.
11 University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor
12 Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston (Harvard)
13 National Rehabilitation Hospital, Washington, D.C.
14 Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York
15 Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
16 Albert Einstein Med. Center (Moss Rehab. Hosp.), Philadelphia
17 Stanford University Hospital, Stanford, Calif.
18 Shepherd Center, Atlanta
19 University Hospital, Denver
20 Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

That being said, I think that the list overstates some places and completely misses other programs considered in the field to be "very good." Virginia Common Wealth University in Richmond is an example of a good program that did not make the list. Some hospitals don't have residency programs (Craig in Denver).

I would be suspicious of godfather's advice. As someone in the field with significant research experience, I can tell you that rehab related research does make you very attractive to many programs and is sought after. Rehab is very multi-disciplinary and increasingly research oriented.

In general, you want to find a program that is gives broad exposure to all aspects of the field: Inpatient medical rehab, outpatient rehab, interventional physiatry, electrodiagnosis, pain, sports, occupational medicine, etc. I'm biased toward larger academic programs as they usually have the tertiary referral sources that makes rehab interesting. The trend is toward outpatient physical medicine training, but you can't ignore a solid inpatient training experience as this will always be PM&R's bread and butter: Stroke rehab, spinal cord injury, general orthopedic rehab, traumatic brain injury, degenerative neurological disease, and amputee.

 

[hayixie]

Is the research background in molecular biology or cancer biology attractive to the PDs? Do you guys know if any programs with the research projects in molecular biology level?
Thanks!

 

[Ligament]

I would caution you to take that US News and world report ranking with a few grains of salt.

All the programs listed are excellent, indeed, but each program has a different focus. If you went to any one of these programs (and many more not listed), you would get a great education.

As far as focus goes, here are a few examples (I am making opinions based on my interviews at these programs, and these are nutshell portraits)
1. U. Washington: Heavy inpatient focus, not up to par outpatient musculoskeletal training, though it is improving. Tops if you want inpatient rehab. training or research.
2. RIC: Excellent inpatient/outpatient balance, perhaps a *little* lacking in procedures (spine/pain) as the patient population is very wealthy and usually heavily involved with the attendings vs. residents.
3. Spaulding: awesome for its electives/selectives in the fourth year. Unique in this regard.
4. U of Michigan: Solid all around, strong outpatient musculoskeletal and pediatric rehab. Many fellowships available in interventional spine, pain management.

These are just some illustrations to show you that you should be wary of the USNews rankings as they do not demonstrate the unique qualities of the residency programs. Please do not be offended if I did not comment on your program, I just wanted to give a few impressions.

regards!