Who will go unmatched this year?

[marathon chick]

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Applications to PM&R Programs are through the roof? Some programs report a triple in appications this year. Since, the word has gotten out about the broad scope of the field and the opportunity to specialize (Pain medicine, Peds Rehab, SCI, TBI, Stroke and the list ) and the job market is wonderful (a friend of mine signed a contract to work 40 hours a week for $205,000 right out of residency--with weekends off!) Will PM&R become as competitive as rads, derm. The chair of my program told me that this year's appicants are so qualified that its scary. He went on to say that if he was in this year's match he would be worried against this stiff competition. Will the field stay laid back and friendly?

 

[Ligament]

Hey marathon chick,

I would be very surprised if PM&R ever gets as tough as derm. Lets face it, derm is an even better lifestyle specialty and they REALLY limit their spots, even compared to PM&R.

As far as rads...I have a hard time believing that the 350k starting salaries for rads will last forever. I feel a large majority of rads people are going for it because of the cash, which is SMART, but if the salaries ever drop it is possible PM&R would become more difficult to land.

Anyway, the surge in applicants is a good thing for PM&R.

Best, Ligament

 

[drvlad2004]

Marathon Chick,

Which program did you finally match into?

In terms of competitiveness, I really don't feel that PM&R has gotten very competitive, at least when it comes to US MDs and DOs getting interviews. Even I received a lot of good interview offers, I did feel that I had to apply to slightly more programs as it was tougher to get interviews at elite programs like RIC & Kessler. I do hear that there are much fewer IMGs and FMGs getting interviews compared to the past. Thus, there are will be a greater % of AMGs (including DOs) matching into PM&R once again. Also, more of us as applicants need to rank more programs than in the past. Maybe that is where the increase in competition is happening?

It's interesting that I run into many of the same interviewees at every one of my interviews. Most of them are very laid back and friendly. At my PM&R electives at NYU, JFK, and Georgetown/NRH, all the students I've met were very laid back. I look forward to working with them as future colleagues. It is a good thing that PM&R programs are getting more quality applicants. As we all know, the competition within all medical specialties occurs in cycles. I don't PM&R will ever become as competitive as derm, rads, ortho, nor even gas & EM.

 

[marathon chick]

I matched into one of the top 10 ranked PM&R programs in the nation. I'm just going to leave it at that.

 

[drvlad2004]

Originally posted by marathon chick
I matched into one of the top 10 ranked PM&R programs in the nation. I'm just going to leave it at that.

Congratulations!

 

[Loves_Chai]

I'm applying this year and I don't even know what the top 10 - 20 programs are. Can any one list them for me? Thanks.

 

[Finally M3]

RIC, TIRR, Kessler, Harvard/Spaulding, Mayo, UMich, OSU, Rusk/NYU, UWash, Thomas Jefferson, the Colorado program (can't name off top of my head). Any others I'm missing? UCLA or Stanford? Which one rotates to Rancho?

I think the only consensus is that RIC is number one...then the rest of the rankings, I dunno. You can look at USNews for the rehab hospital reputation rankings, I guess, but that's not necessarily judging the quality of the residency program.

 

[drvlad2004]

Originally posted by Loves_Chai
I'm applying this year and I don't even know what the top 10 - 20 programs are. Can any one list them for me? Thanks.

Honestly I don't think about really knows what the top 10 programs are. I agree with Finally M3 that RIC (Northwestern) is probably the consensus #1. A good number of people who interview, at various programs, went to RIC. USNews rankings seem to be based more on patients' perception of the hospital and money. However, it doesn't much to do with residencies. Hospitals like Cleveland Clinic and Craig Hospital are listed but there are no true residency programs over there.

Every residency program has some sort of niche where they are very strong at (e.g. inpatient, musculoskeletal, TBI, SCI) compared to others. You just have to see which program that you really like. Top 10 is really a vague term because there are programs that I have really liked that are not mentioned in the same breadth as others.

I'll take a stab at the top 10 programs:

RIC, Kessler, Thomas Jefferson, Baylor/UT Houston (TIRR), Spaulding, UWash (Seattle), Mayo, MCV/VCU, UVa, Michigan. NYU seems to fall way off the top 10 by what many people now think of Rusk.

Being a New Yorker, my idea of the top 10 will probably be different from others. I lean towards the northeast programs and a couple of midwest programs.

Here are some programs that I hear or think are good:

UT San Antonio (UTHSCSA)
Penn
Pittsburgh
JFK
UCLA (residents rotate at Ranchos)
UC Davis
LSU
UAB
Stanford
Colorado
U. of Chicago/Schwab
NYU/Rusk
Sinai-Baltimore
Michigan State
Cornell/Columbia
Temple
????
????
????

I could keep going on and on. You just have to visit each program that you are invited to and see how much you like it. For example, I was completely surprised by how solid the East Carolina programs is (The remote area of Greenville, NC was a downside for me).