Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency

The residency training program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Montefiore and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine was established in 1946 and has a long history of leadership in the field of PM&R. It was a founding department of the medical school and had a significant early impact on the development of PM&R as a specialty. Our program offers comprehensive training that prepares physicians to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of a physiatrist. The department is committed to providing excellent didactic and clinical education in a large and diverse demographic and multi-institutional setting. This commitment has resulted in a comprehensive program that exceeds both ACGME and American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPM&R) requirements. The Program has consistently received full accreditation from the ACGME.

Residents will be assigned an attending physician as a mentor to guide your residency and encourage you to actively explore innovation in our field. Outside of this more formal relationship, Montefiore thrives on a collegial, multidisciplinary culture that champions collaboration on many levels.

With that in mind, all of our attending physicians are eager to work with you so that you can optimize your potential, pursue your unique interests and build a wide portfolio of compassionate expertise.

Mission Statement

The Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine resident training program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) is dedicated to providing residents with excellent clinical and didactic education requisite for the practice of PM&R, the medical specialty which focuses on the diagnoses, evaluation and management of persons of all ages with physical and/or cognitive impairments, disabilities and functional limitations. The program is further dedicated to the personal development and well-being of each resident. We recognize that excellent physiatrists require both knowledge and skill in order to render the best possible patient care in a caring, respectful manner. The program is committed to faculty and program development and to providing every possible opportunity for each resident to excel in academic and clinical physiatry.

The educational goal of the residency program is to prepare residents for unsupervised practice of PMR through the acquisition of all general and PM&R specific core competencies in a thoughtful, developmental sequence as guided by the Physiatric Milestones. The program is dedicated to providing an education that is practical and relevant to community needs and resident interests, leading to competent practice in all PM&R domains. We strive to train residents to work in an interdisciplinary context in the most positive, cost effective manner possible. The program fosters resident innovation, service and sense of mission. PM&R residents are encouraged to seek innovative ways to improve health, minimize the impact of disabilities, identify and reduce healthcare disparities and maximize quality of life in local and global communities.

The program values health and independent function, compassion, integrity and honesty and emphasizes quality in all activities (patient care, research, education) as well as recognition and respect for all individuals.

Program Structure

Our program matches 9 residents per year, with a typical program size of 27 residents. By the end of all 3 years of residency, all residents will have completed:

• 12 months acute inpatient rehab, including dedicated months for spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury
• 12 months outpatient services
• 4 months EMG
• 1 month interventional pain medicine
• 2 months pediatric rehab
• 2 months elective
• 3 months clinical concentration in area of resident interest

Curriculum

Our strong didactic program consists of a core 3 hours per week of protected weekly didactic time, Grand Rounds typically correlated to the weekly didactic topic, supplemental didactics and eLearning modules.

Supplemental Didactics

• Weekly journal clubs
• Weekly MSK Ultrasound conference
• Bimonthly Multidisciplinary Spine conference
• Bimonthly EMG conference
• Weekly chairman conference
• Annual anatomy course – prosection studies, physical examination maneuvers and cadaveric injections in Albert Einstein College of Medicine anatomy lab

Benefits

• 20 vacation days, 12 sick days, 8 hospital holidays.
• Educational resource allowance of $500.00 per year ($600.00 for those on Jacobi payroll), which can be used toward purchasing textbooks, software, PDA devices, iPhones, iPads, e-readers, payment of courses or examination fees, etc.
• Subsidized housing in Montefiore apartment buildings may be available (Note: demand currently exceeds supply and housing cannot be guaranteed).
• Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, with a variety of program choices.
• Annual dues for the American Academy of PM&R and the New York Society of PM&R.
• Residents have full use of Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine libraries, including free interlibrary loan and online access to full-text journals and e-books.
• Conference time is awarded to PGY 2 residents once per year and PGY 3 and 4 residents twice per year when that resident is a presenting first author (poster, platform session, lecture) or participating faculty in a workshop at a national or international conference. PGY 4 residents are granted one additional week of conference time and a $500 stipend, with no research or presentation requirement.

Take the Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Residency Virtual Tour See why so many applicants choose Montefiore-Einstein Launch Tour

Faculty

The PM&R training program includes more than 30 full-time physiatrists who are committed to resident education, yielding a very favorable faculty to resident ratio. The faculty includes many prominent physicians with expertise across a comprehensive range of PM&R and physiatric subspecialties. Physical and occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists and exercise physiologists also contribute to the teaching effort. Residents also interact with, and learn from, a full interdisciplinary complement of physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers and PhD staff in a very large university hospital setting.

All faculty are ABPMR certified. Pediatric rehabilitation medicine faculty members are ABPRM certified. All faculty training residents in Electrodiagnosis are ABNEM board certified and several are also Neuromuscular board certified. The Pain Medicine faculty are ACGME board certified in Pain Medicine. The Sports Medicine faculty are board certified in Sports Medicine. Faculty training residents in Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation are also board certified in Internal Medicine.
The affiliated Clinical Chair is Dr. Michelle Stern (North Central Bronx Healthcare System –Jacobi and North Central Bronx hospitals).

Residents will be assigned an attending physician as a mentor to guide your residency and encourage you to actively explore innovation in our field. Outside of this more formal relationship, Montefiore thrives on a collegial, multidisciplinary culture that champions collaboration on many levels.

With that in mind, all of our attending physicians are eager to work with you so that you can optimize your potential, pursue your unique interests and build a wide portfolio of compassionate expertise.

Application Process

All applicants must submit documentation through ERAS and be enrolled in the NRMP (the Match). No positions are offered outside the Match.

Applicants must meet one of the following criteria:

• be a graduate of an LCME-accredited medical school in the USA or Canada
• be a graduate of an American Osteopathic Association accredited medical school
• be a graduate of an International Medical School and meet one of the following criteria:
  • hold a valid ECFMG certificate
  • have a full and unrestricted US license to practice medicine
  • be a graduate of an LCME-approved 5th Pathway program.

Candidates are ranked based on the interview, medical school transcript, dean's letter, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores, letters of recommendation, research experience and publications in peer-reviewed journals. Screening thresholds are revised each year and approved by the Admissions Committee.

Montefiore sponsors J1 and H1 visas.

For more information, please email our Residency Training Manager, Marivell Viruet at mviruet@montefiore.org

Explore the Many Opportunities Here

We are proud of the fact that our residents have gone on to extremely successful and fulfilling careers in our field. We like to attribute this success, at least in part, to the well-rounded, in-depth education that you can receive here, and the fact that ours is a dynamic, exciting department committed to the highest level of teaching and patient care.

We invite you to explore this site and learn more about our residency program, as well as the many therapies and services that we offer our patients