Questions for Intro to PM&R Lecture

[fozzy40]

I posted this in the Allo and Osteo forums and haven't received too many responses.

I'm giving an Intro to PM&R lecture at my school. I would like to have a Q&A style lecture and I wanted to make sure to address some of the questions that current meds students have about PM&R. Here are some of the questions I have so far:

What are physiatrists?
What is PM&R?
What type of medical conditions do we see?
Where do PM&R docs work?
Are there specialties in PM&R?
How much money can I make?
What medical specialties overlap with PM&R?
What is the training like?
How are you different than a physical therapy?

What other questions or perceptions do med students have about this field?

Thanks for your help.

fozzy40

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[dc2md]

I'd throw in a PM&R stands for "plenty of money and relaxation" joke.

 

[fozzy40]

Will do! I'll also throw in "Is PM&R competitive?"

 

[ihaveaquestion]

typical workday
lifestyle
what makes a good pm&r applicant
available research, externship opportunities

great idea for talk, btw.

 

[lobelsteve]

PM me for some INFO.

 

[melancholy]

Probably an expected question since you're at AZCOM is where does OMT fit into the role as a physiatrist? (i.e. how much have you seen it used overall, have you seen it used on an inpatient/outpatient basis, etc.)

Similar to the "what makes a good PM&R applicant" - what range of personalities might be attracted to PM&R? (not trying to stereotype or limit anyone's field of vision, but there are some personalities that may find other fields such as surgery or radiology much more to their liking)

 

[fozzy40]

Without being too stereotypical, what personality characteristics do you find common amongst PM&R docs?

 

[melancholy]

Without being too stereotypical, what personality characteristics do you find common amongst PM&R docs?

In my limited personal experiences, I find physiatrists to have characteristics such as good communication skills when working with patients/family/team members (people-oriented), an open attitude in educating others about our specialty, the ability to effectively coordinate team efforts, and perhaps the desire (through training?) to be more comprehensive in our approach to patients.

I'm not saying these are specific to our specialty, but I seem to find these traits in the physiatrists I've worked with on rotations. Just my two cents, but if anyone else had input on this.

 

[MSKalltheway]

typical workday

I totally agree with this. As a 1st yr., I was able to get a better idea of what life as a physiatrist was like after doing things like going for morning rounds in the TBI unit and seeing EMGs or the outpatient SCI clinic in the afternoon. Getting an idea of the possibilities of a "typical" (though seemingly quite variant) workday was very helpful.

Also, telling them how to pronounce "physiatrist" would help too. I'm still polling for that info between different docs

 

[mehul_25]

I wouldnt put this in the lecture but the on the inpatient side, a common characteristic is "passive-aggressive"...just kidding...I think...

 

[lucyz02]

Also, telling them how to pronounce "physiatrist" would help too. I'm still polling for that info between different docs [/QUOTE]

At the AAPMR meeting last year in Hawaii - the presidential speach---
they were suggesting to take on a pronouciation of feez-e--atry with the emphasis of a "z and e" vs "s and eye" as in fis-eye-atry for the reason that the latter was more reminiscent of phsyciatry and may people are confused. Personally I think people are confused because of the many synonyms and inconsistency. I say pick one and stick to it and advrtise it to get everyone on board then there would be ideally one variation. But, thats in an ideal world, certainly if physicians are confused ofcourse meanwhile the confusion will persist amoungst patients.

 

[axm397]

At the AAPMR meeting last year in Hawaii - the presidential speach---
they were suggesting to take on a pronouciation of feez-e--atry with the emphasis of a "z and e" vs "s and eye" as in fis-eye-atry for the reason that the latter was more reminiscent of phsyciatry and may people are confused. Personally I think people are confused because of the many synonyms and inconsistency. I say pick one and stick to it and advrtise it to get everyone on board then there would be ideally one variation. But, thats in an ideal world, certainly if physicians are confused ofcourse meanwhile the confusion will persist amoungst patients.

You're probably referring to Dr. Bett's speech when he accepted the Frank H Krusen award - He was one of the first physiatrists in the country and that was when they decided to pronounce it "feez-e-a-try" because they didn't want it confused w psychiatry and podiatry. Now a days, just as many people say "phys-I-a-try" and few people care. Many academic physiatrists do care so it's probably playing it safe to say "feez-e-a-try" on your residency interviews.

The more recent movement is to go towards calling ourselves "rehab physicians". Overall, this field has always had a problem with name recognition and Dr. Betts himself has said it is because we do not sell ourselves well. think about it - how many patients are you taking care of right now who actually know that you are a physiatrist??