Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Tufts Medical Center (Tufts MC) offers a comprehensive, fully accredited three-year residency (PGY 2 – PGY 4) in the specialty of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Physiatry is concerned with the treatment of children, adolescents and adults who have physical disabilities and musculoskeletal impairment.

The residency program is fully accredited by the American Medical Association/ACGME, the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Osteopathic Association.

For more information about residencies offered in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, contact Suzanne White-Kelly, Business Operations Manager and Associate Director of the Residency Program, at 617-636-5625.

The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation provides a well-balanced didactic and clinical training program to provide physicians with an exceptional educational experience designed to prepare them to enter either academic or clinical practice. Physicians preparing to become physiatrists receive in-depth didactic and clinical training in basic science and clinical aspects of neurologic, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular disorders resulting in disability.

Disorders include spinal cord injury, amputation, stroke, head injury, arthritis, cancer, pain syndromes, cardiopulmonary diseases and developmental disabilities. To provide a broad understanding of medical aspects of disability, as well as physical and emotional challenges, the full range of allied health professionals participate in the educational program.

The residency program consists of a core series of rotations. The didactic components of the residency program include a three-year curriculum of short formal courses held once a week during dedicated education time. In addition, a monthly Journal Club is held to review current literature. There are also Journal Clubs to review classic PM&R literature, Rehabilitation Resident and Attending Grand Rounds, and many other specialty conferences that keep residents abreast of the latest clinical and research advances and prepare the resident to present and share his/her research and clinical experience on a national level.

The Tufts University Health Sciences Library, adjacent to Tufts Medical Center, is part of the Arthur A. Sackler Center for Health Communication. It is a state-of-the-art electronic facility containing over 100,000 volumes, subscriptions to 1,300 Journals, on-line catalogs and access to computerized medical literature search services. Each of the rotation sites has a library and computerized literature search services as well.

Interview Selection Requirements

Individuals can be considered for acceptance to the residency program during their fourth year of medical school contingent upon successful completion of medical school and a minimum of one year of internship (PGY-1) training in an ACGME accredited program.

We require USMLE (MD's) and COMLEX (DO's) to have passing scores on first attempt.  We will need Step II results prior to ranking.

There is a medical school graduation cut-off of three years.

Rotations

Tufts Medical Center
800 Washington St., Box 400
Boston, MA 02111

• Outpatient Adult Rehabilitation 

• Outpatient Pediatric Rehabilitation
  
  
• Electrodiagnosis in Department of Neurology
  

Boston VA Healthcare Systems
1400 VFW Parkway
West Roxbury, MA 02132
617-323-7700 

• Musculoskeletal & Sports
  
  
• Spinal Cord Injury
  
  
• PM&R Rotation

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of New England
2 Rehabilitation Way
Woburn, MA 01801

• Outpatient Rehabilitation
  
  
• Stroke
  
  
• Brain Injury 
  
  
• Medical Rehabilitation

All applications must be submitted through the ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Program). If you need help with instructions on how to access a student workstation or use the ERAS system, you may contact your medical school Dean's Office.  Foreign medical graduates should contact the ECFMG.

Please note that a minimum of two letters of recommendation, a curriculum vitae, a personal statement, medical school transcripts and a Dean's letter are required. We strongly recommend that at least one letter be from a physiatrist.  Both U.S. and international medical school graduates must have completed USMLE or COMLEX Steps I & II and passed on the first attempt to be considered for the rank list.

Applicants must register with the National Resident Match Program for PGY 2 positions in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Applications should be received for preliminary review by mid-October. Completed applications (including Dean's Letter) are requested by mid-November. All of the above information must be received before we can review your application.

Applicants are invited for interviews by e-mail once the Admissions Committee has reviewed completed applications. A choice of dates is available. Interviews are held in November, December and January, and every effort is made to accommodate applicants' preferences.

If you have any unanswered questions about the program, you may contact: 

Suzanne White-Kelly
Business Operations Manager
Associate Director of Resident Education
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Tufts Medical Center
800 Washington Street Box #400
Boston, MA 02111-0387

swhite-kelly@tuftsmedicalcenter.org
T: 617-636-5625
F: 617-636-4240

Paid vacation and personal time is provided each year. Senior residents are allowed time off for interviews. Each resident receives a yearly discretionary account for educational purposes. An excellent fringe benefit package is provided. Elective time is available in the PGY-3 or PGY-4 year.