SCI fellowship

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Butterfly23

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I thankfully matched to PM&R program this yr. I am very happy. The residency I am going to get trained has very limited exposure to SCI. Even the Program director of my program admits it.

So Dear SDN PM&R attendings and senior and junior residents of PM&R world,
How competitive is SCI fellowship?

How is job market after SCI fellowship in academic world and Private settings??Compensation??

I think SCI medicine will mostly inpatient. Am I right?? Also there will be outpatient clinics for baclofen pump and Botox injections and any other procedures that SCI medicine perform??


How to apply for Fellowship in SCI?? I think it is NRMP or ACGME match like any other fellowship. Am I right?? so If I come from residency program with limited exposure to SCI medicine, how to make up for that??

Thank you

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I'm in the same shoes as you--recently matched into PM&R and am considering SCI. So I can really only answer your questions based on what I've heard from others, rather than my own experience (since I have none...)

I don't know too much about the job market for SCI physicians, other than you're going to be more limited geographically than if you're a general rehab physician. The chair of our PM&R department said he wouldn't hire an SCI physician because we just don't have the volume for an SCI unit, but he'd hire a TBI/neurorehab-trained physician in a heartbeat. So I think it's the really big academic centers, VAs, some major county hospitals, and maybe a hodgepodge of private hospitals (I know Kaiser has an SCI program... not sure how many hospitals of theirs have one).

There might be more more opportunities for SCI in the outpt world--the patients will need follow-up for life. But they do stay a long time in inpt rehab, so I don't know for sure. The VA has a huge need for SCI physicians, both inpt and outpt.

I don't know much about compensation, other than I've heard doing a fellowship in SCI probably doesn't increase your salary. Most SCI patients are going to be on medicare/medicaid, which doesn't pay physicians/hospitals much. But I've been told the fellowships in general are easy to come by--many go unfilled. Obviously places like Kessler and RIC are going to have competitive fellowships.
 
Just to add on to RangerBob's comments, I think your pool of jobs will be restricted but only if you are looking for a dedicated SCI position. It is not uncommon for SCI (or TBI) fellowship trained docs to split their practice between general and sci. At an average rehab hospital, you could be the designated SCI guy even though you still have to carry some stroke/ortho pts on your census.

I don't buy into the idea that a fellowship can hurt your job prospects, though I have heard it from residents in the past as well.
 
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