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Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Education programs in Physiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine include the MD program, residency program and fellowship program.

Education Programs

In the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Indiana University School of Medicine, physician educators provide an excellent educational experience to medical students, residents and fellows as they pursue careers in physiatry.

Career Preparation

Physicians in this specialty care for individuals of all ages who have conditions of the bones, muscles, joints, brain and nervous system, and they help to restore the patient’s function and quality of life to the fullest extent possible. Physiatrists commonly treat sports- and work-related injuries, trauma of all types, and diseases and disorders, including stroke, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis.

Training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation offers opportunities for careers in academic, hospital-based or private practice settings. Clinical as well as administrative positions are available, and many practitioners enjoy a balance between inpatient and outpatient work. Advancing technologies in patient care also make physiatry an exciting specialty in which to conduct research.

a person responds to a question in a meeting

Medical student rotation

Medical students can rotate through a physiatry elective during the third or fourth year of medical school to gain insight to this specialty.

Physiatry Residency

Residency

The PM&R residency is a three-year program that begins after an internship year and offers broad-based training in stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, musculoskeletal, pain, EMG, sports medicine and pediatric rehabilitation.

Working as Physiatrists

After training, physicians in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, known as physiatrists, typically choose a solo practice or a group setting-partnership, multispecialty group, hospital-based or HMO. Affiliations may be with an academic institution, a private community hospital or clinic, a VA hospital, or a free-standing rehab facility. The practice may consist of solely outpatient care (such as a sports medicine clinic), inpatient care (hospital stroke unit), or a combination of both.

In many cases, the patient population for this area of medicine is referral-based and the physiatrist initially functions in a consulting role. Referrals typically come from neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, neurology, oncology, vascular surgery, cardiology, rheumatology, trauma and internal medicine. If a patient is admitted into an inpatient rehab unit, the physiatrist may then assume more of a primary care role.

The primary professional organization for this area of medicine is the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R).

Want details?

For more information about physiatry, including the lifestyle of working as a physiatrist and how these physicians function as part of a medical team, explore the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation FAQ.