USMLE for a PM&R Residency?

[beeda]

I'm getting ready to take step one boards, and am very interested in doing a PM&R Residency. I know that many PM&R programs take D.O. grads, but what I do not know is whether or not they really want us to take the USMLE. Does anyone have any experience talking with different programs about this subject? Is it worth my time and effort and money to take the USMLE? I've heard a thousand times that "it won't hurt you," but will it help me?

beeda

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[macman]

Actually, I think it could hurt....not to be negative but what if you ace the COMLEX and bomb the USMLE??? Then your are in trouble! I'm no expert but what I did is wait to see my comlex results and then decide about usmle. The only disadvantage being that you would have to "study twice". But i think that would creatre a win/win for you. If you do great on Comlex, stop there, if you do not , survey your weaknesses and if you are a gunner, take the USMLE later in the year after some more (objectively well needed) studying.

btw I am also interested in pmr and was advised the usmle is not necessary

-2 cents-

 

[npdoc28]

There is a student here at Western that is about to graduate and is going into PM&R. He interviewed at UCLA, Stanford, UCDavis, and Washington, and they were all very impressed with him. He only took the COMLEX. He said he was never asked a question about the USMLE. He said he considered taking the USMLE, but he already felt he was already academically strong. He had good grades, good COMLEX, and he did the teaching fellowship for OMM. He said that already being academically strong, and being a DO (with teaching fellowship) that receives extra training in musculoskeletal already made him an attractive candidate for PMR. He recommended that a student should contact the program first and see what they say about taking the USMLE. Obviously, he will be going to one of those top programs, and the fact that he never took the USMLE was never a question.

 

[CoolDOguy]

Concerning the USMLE/COMLEX debate it seems as if you will get 10 different answers from 10 different people. I am interested in the field of pediatrics and actually contacted many program directors in the north east. All said that they accept the COMLEX. My feeling is that DO populated residencies and specialities (FP, IM, Peds, OB/GYN, Psych, and PMR) seem to be fine with the COMLEX. And PM&R is definately a DO friendly speciality. But I would contact residency directors and see what they say.

 

[OsteoMed02]

We have a good PM&R residency through the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. You should check it out!

Julia

 

[drusso]

You'll do fine applying to PM&R programs with only the COMLEX, but USMLE scores never hurt. It's unlikely that you'll bomb one set of exams and ace the others as they are very similar in scope (the COMLEX having OMM off course and the USMLE having more in depth basic science on step 1). I took both and was very consistent between and within exams. You could always just take the first two steps of each and then finish off the sequence with the COMLEX.

 

[melancholy]

Actually, I heard that residency programs might not be able to figure out whether or not an applicant has taken the USMLE or not as the only way anyone will know if you have taken the USMLE is if you have asked to release your scores. That was some advice I heard from random upperclassmen which made it seem like the biggest disadvantage to taking the USMLE in addition to the COMLEX was the extra few hundred dollars and the one day time commitment.

A little FYI, the COMP 5th year fellow who is graduating will be doing his PM&R residency at UC Davis after his internship. Time to go hit some bars in Ottawa!

 

[PublicHealth]

What do PM&R docs do? What are some typical conditions that they treat? How are they different from physical therapists? Lifestyle?

Thank you!

PH

 

[Ligament]

I would say that the COMLEX should suffice for PM&R residencies. PM&R is a very DO friendly specialty (perhaps the most friendly?).

The difference between a PT and a PM&R doc is roughly six years of training.

regards!😉

 

[drusso]

Originally posted by PublicHealth
What do PM&R docs do? What are some typical conditions that they treat? How are they different from physical therapists? Lifestyle?

Thank you!

PH

You can search SDN and get answers and discriptions for this question. Basically, physiatrists treat chronic diseases and injuries by taking a functional restoration approach. Common conditiions include spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, pain syndromes, and amputation. Physiatrists are also musculoskeletal specialists and use conservative treatments and modalities to treat musculoskeletal conditions. Physiatrists can do sub-specialty training in pain medicine, sports medicine, neurorehabilitation, spinal cord injury medicine, electrodiagnosis, and occupational medicine.

For more info click below...

American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

 

[Camber314]

Beeda:

1) just sent you a PM.

2) For the record, I agree with Dave and ligament - I just finished with the whole PM&R interview/match thing and the USMLE or not was never an issue at any program.

Wes

 

[PublicHealth]

Dr. Russo,

Thank you for your informative reply. Your posts are always a pleasure to read.

Anyone know which PM&R residency programs are well-respected and DO-friendly?

PH

 

[melancholy]

hi drusso,
congrats on your PM&R residency.. where are you currently working at?

 

[Ligament]

as far as I could see on my interviews, all the PM&R programs are DO friendly.

 

[beeda]

Thanks everyone for the info!

Sorry I haven't replied to anything - I had my preferences set to send me a notice everytime someone posted a reply to the thread, but the last one I got was after the second message, so I just figured that no one had anything else to say. Needless to say I didn't look at it again until today...

I appreciate everyone's comments - very helpful. Here is my next question:
Besides going to scutwork.com and reading the reviews, and actually going to visit different programs, is there any other good source of information about the different PM&R programs? Obviously going to visit or interview would be the best, but I'd like to get a better idea of where to do elective rotations and/or site visits without wasting time and money visiting programs that wouldn't be a good fit to begin with.

Thanks!

 

[beeda]

Just a follow-up message to this thread now that I am a 4th year preparing to match to PM&R in March.

With the information that I got here, I decided not to take the USMLE. I just wanted to let any other interested parties know that I have never been asked about it at any of my interviews. I personally do not know any other interviewees who have. Granted, I was not interested in big and/or really competitive programs -- I applied to a relatively small number (10) of smaller-sized programs, and that may be part of it. But in my case it has not been an issue.

I know that some people continue to think that if you are not sure what you want to do specialty-wise, and you recognize that rehab has become much more competitive of late (all the places I interviewed at had record #'s of applications and interviewees) it may not be a bad thing to do just in case. While that may be true, I personally do not think that not taking the USMLE will keep you out of PM&R. It may close some doors at certain programs, but the VAST MAJORITY (including "top tier programs") will not give it a second thought.

 

[DOctorJay]

Just remember that as a second year you've been exposed to relatively few areas of medicine and have really dug into maybe a couple things that you are interested in now. There's no guarantee you will go into this field so my thought is to keep ALL options open. Unless you already know there is absolutely no way you're doing anything but PM&R (which I think is hard to say as a second year med student) I think it wise to take both tests so that no matter where you go you can be compared to other students by the same standard exam.

-J