Baylor/University of Texas
|
by Stephen Hampton, President, UTHHSC PM&R Student Interest GroupThe ongoing care for Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford has sparked significant interest in rehabilitation medicine. Now more than ever, the field of Physiatry can benefit from solid, enthusiastic representation. The primary goal of our PM&R student interest group is to raise awareness of this diverse, and often misunderstood, specialty within the Texas Medical Center. Gaining familiarity with the perspectives and techniques employed by these specialists will benefit all members of our group, regardless of the fields they ultimately choose... read more.
|
| The Origins of UCLA's PM&R SIG | by Aslan Pirouz, UCLA Class of 2012; and Armen Derian, UCLA Class of 2013
 We became interested in PM&R in our first year of medical school at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The co-chair of this block, Dr. Quynh Pham, gave us a great introduction to the field of PM&R. What appeals to us most about this specialty is how it combines musculoskeletal anatomy, pharmacology, and neurology in a way in order to improve quality of life for patients with disabling conditions. It also allows us to pursue a variety of fellowships in sports medicine, spinal cord injury, or pain management...read more.
photo: UCLA musculoskeletal exam workshop Foreground: Emerald Huang (PGY3); Background: Shawn Hsieh (PGY4) demonstrating a straight leg raise test on Nathan Perrizo (PGY4) |
The Future of UCLA's PM&R SIG
| by Marissa Lee, UCLA Class of 2013
I was introduced to PM&R in the last few months of my first year of medical school, though I wish it was much sooner. I am incredibly grateful to have stumbled upon a field of medicine that perfectly resonated with my motivations and aspirations as a budding physician. The student interest group has been a place where I could develop my leadership skills. I'm proud to have partaken in the reinvigoration the PM&R interest group at UCLA from 2010-2011, going from minimal events to multiple, sustainable events in just one year. Through collaborating with other interest groups and organizations, my two co-coordinators and I have been able to recruit an increasing number of our classmates to join our PM&R group and invest in our activities...read more.
|
University of Alabama
| by Mary Patricia George, MS2; James Oliver, MS2; Carrie Stewart, MS2; Laura B. Kezar, MD; and Salar Deldar, MD
Before there was a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation student interest group at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine (UABSOM), the PM&R department had been involved in medical student education for many years. Physiatrists taught the musculoskeletal physical exam in the Introduction to Clinical Medicine course and facilitated case conferences in the neuroscience course. In 2005, a MS1 and now a PM&R resident, Salar Deldar approached Dr. Laura Kezar, the UAB PM&R Residency Program Director, about his interest in the specialty of physiatry. Dr. Deldar was fortunate to hear about the field through a conversation with a relative, who knew his personal interests were in anatomy, neuroscience and small but effective procedures. Much like himself, Dr. Deldar realized that many of his fellow classmates were completely unaware of this specialty and he decided to do something about it by establishing a student interest group. With the help of Dr. Kezar, he worked over the next several months to recruit interested students, write a constitution, and hold officer elections. Thus, the PM&R SIG was established as a student-run organization devoted to the introduction, education and enrichment of the UABSOM student body in the field of PM&R...read more.
|
Collaborating with Other Interest Groups as a Way of Demonstrating the Multi-disciplinary Nature of Rehabilitation Medicine: Mount Sinai School of Medicine
| by Geoff Hart Cooper and Elizabeth Halperin, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
We spend our first two weeks of medical school in a class titled Introduction to Emergency Medicine. The course explores the diagnosis and acute management of a handful of medical conditions, and the class leaves nervously anticipating their next shot at stabilizing a C-spine or checking pupillary reflexes. Long-term management of these patients, however, is rarely addressed. Thus, students seldom receive an early introduction to fields that address long-term care of these patients. Understanding student interest in injury management and a relative lack of knowledge about the future needs of these patients, our Rehab Medicine Interest Group found a unique opportunity to introduce students to PM&R's integral role in patient care...read more.
|
|
|
|
Message from the Editor:
Eric Wisotzky, MD
Immediate Past Chair of the AAP RFC
| |
| |
PM&R Student Interest Groups - A Call To Action
This newsletter was created to address a critical component of advancing the specialty of PM&R - the medical student interest group (SIG). SIGs are where many budding physiatrists first learn of this amazing medical specialty. By treating these SIGs as sacred entities, we can help mold our colleagues of the future.
SIGs are critical to introducing students to our specialty. SIG meetings may successfully recruit medical students to PM&R at an early point in their medical school training. This will allow the student to truly understand the scope of the specialty, shadow and/or rotate in the field, get involved in research activities, and successfully plan for residency applications. SIG meetings can also be successful in introducing students who will not go into PM&R to our specialty. The more our non-physiatrist colleagues understand our specialty, the better our standing will be within the world of medicine.
This newsletter was created by the generous submissions of both residents and medical students. This newsletter can be used for many purposes. It can be used to introduce medical students to PM&R. It can help to share ideas for events to existing PM&R SIGs. It is also meant to inspire PM&R departments across the country to reach out to their affiliated medical schools. If your department is not participating in your medical school's activities, you are missing a critical means to advance your departments and PM&R as a whole.
|
|
Start a PM&R SIG
If you are interested in starting a PM&R SIG, please refer to the AAP's Medical Student Interest Group Guidebook HERE. If you are a medical student interested in learning more about PM&R, please refer to the AAP's website. Please refer to the "For Residents" section of the AAP website to communicate with the leadership of the AAP's Residents/Fellows Council regarding this newsletter and future newsletters. |
|
|
