Switching from Pain to inpatient PM&R

[futurephysiatrist]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I recently accepted a position at an encompass inpatient rehabilitation hospital. I have been practicing outpatient pm&R/pain for the past 4 years, but decided I wanted to switch to inpatient rehab as a consultant with IM primary.

I have already been offered the job and accepted an associate medical director role for which I've signed a contract. Now I'm going through the credentialing application and its asking about inpatient experience. I have done only outpatient since residency/fellowship, however I feel my rehab knowledge is adequate. I just want to make sure that credentialing won't be an issue. I'm planning to give notice at my current job very soon and just want to make sure credentialing won't hold me up. I assume they wouldn't have hired me if it would be . Curious if anyone else has been in this situation or a similar one.

 

[Iamnew2]

I recently accepted a position at an encompass inpatient rehabilitation hospital. I have been practicing outpatient pm&R/pain for the past 4 years, but decided I wanted to switch to inpatient rehab as a consultant with IM primary.

I have already been offered the job and accepted an associate medical director role for which I've signed a contract. Now I'm going through the credentialing application and its asking about inpatient experience. I have done only outpatient since residency/fellowship, however I feel my rehab knowledge is adequate. I just want to make sure that credentialing won't be an issue. I'm planning to give notice at my current job very soon and just want to make sure credentialing won't hold me up. I assume they wouldn't have hired me if it would be . Curious if anyone else has been in this situation or a similar one.

wouldn't think that it's an issue. credentialing just checks your work history, malpractice, references, etc. you were offered the job so you should be ok.

 

[Momentum70]

I was in similar situation and asked them ahead if time and talked about it in the interview process. They said it was fine. One issue I had was the credential application at the time required me to list hospitals i had been credentialed in past 5 years. I was 5 1/2 years out from residency so answer was none. Form required a response to submit application. I call them and they told me to just put anything. I called it fake hospital address 123 fake st and phone number was all 1s. I also saved the email that told me to put it in because i was afraid of falsifying application.


Short version
Got hired, no issues, and has never been a problem through rest of my career(still have email instructions saved )

 

[pmrpmd123]

This doesn’t answer your original question, but I’m thinking of making the leap from full time pain to some inpatient rehab/outpatient pain hybrid model. I haven’t completely formulated how this new practice model would look on a weekly basis. What made you leave pain and go back to rehab?

 

[futurephysiatrist]

This doesn’t answer your original question, but I’m thinking of making the leap from full time pain to some inpatient rehab/outpatient pain hybrid model. I haven’t completely formulated how this new practice model would look on a weekly basis. What made you leave pain and go back to rehab?

Just got a little bit burnt out with pain in some ways. I think there are pain positions that I would enjoy but in my current more rural location, every pain job is private practice and all manage opioids at least to some extent. Even leaving aside the opioid management aspect, I've just grown tired of seeing the same patients every month without much changing. I miss the progress that you get to see in inpatient rehab, and the collaborative approach.

If it were up to me, pain would be more collaborative. I'd love to have a clinic with an in house PT/OT team, psychiatry and/or neuropsych, O&P, etc. But in the private practice world that just isn't possible. Patient's lack of willingness to do some of the above things is frustrating to me as well.

I think there are a lot of people who do both and I think that would certainly be possible. I may try to find a way to keep my pain procedure skills up working part time at an ortho clinic or something if I can.

 

[futurephysiatrist]

I was in similar situation and asked them ahead if time and talked about it in the interview process. They said it was fine. One issue I had was the credential application at the time required me to list hospitals i had been credentialed in past 5 years. I was 5 1/2 years out from residency so answer was none. Form required a response to submit application. I call them and they told me to just put anything. I called it fake hospital address 123 fake st and phone number was all 1s. I also saved the email that told me to put it in because i was afraid of falsifying application.


Short version
Got hired, no issues, and has never been a problem through rest of my career(still have email instructions saved )

That is reassuring. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Momentum70]

Just got a little bit burnt out with pain in some ways. I think there are pain positions that I would enjoy but in my current more rural location, every pain job is private practice and all manage opioids at least to some extent. Even leaving aside the opioid management aspect, I've just grown tired of seeing the same patients every month without much changing. I miss the progress that you get to see in inpatient rehab, and the collaborative approach.

If it were up to me, pain would be more collaborative. I'd love to have a clinic with an in house PT/OT team, psychiatry and/or neuropsych, O&P, etc. But in the private practice world that just isn't possible. Patient's lack of willingness to do some of the above things is frustrating to me as well.

I think there are a lot of people who do both and I think that would certainly be possible. I may try to find a way to keep my pain procedure skills up working part time at an ortho clinic or something if I can.

Unsure if you have any small stand alone rehabs nearby but you could see about taking call or weekends. I worked at a rural rehab and there were 2 pain docs that would each take a weekend of call and round on patients. Helped us out so we got some more weekends off and they kept up pmr inpt skills and extra $$$

 

[pmrpmd123]

Unsure if you have any small stand alone rehabs nearby but you could see about taking call or weekends. I worked at a rural rehab and there were 2 pain docs that would each take a weekend of call and round on patients. Helped us out so we got some more weekends off and they kept up pmr inpt skills and extra $$$

Yeah, I’m working on credentialing to do this. And then may make leap to do part time pain and part time inpatient rehab. I think I need variety and that mix of inpatient rehab patients who are motivated to get better. Re: OP’s original post, while the money in pain is nice, it’s really not enough to make up for how demanding the private practice work flow can be. I just haven’t really seen anyone doing half and half that I wonder if it’s possible. I definitely do not want to give up pain entirely. I want to keep that skill set in the event I want to go back to 100% pain in the future.