Careers in Medicine: Specialty Information

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Nature of the work

A physician certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation is often called a physiatrist. Physiatrists diagnose, evaluate and treat patients with physical disabilities. The primary goals of physicians in physical medicine and rehabilitation are to achieve maximum restoration of physical, psychological, social and vocational function through comprehensive rehabilitation and effective pain management.

Physiatrists can receive training in the following subspecialties:

• Pain Medicine - provides a high level of care for patients experiencing problems with acute, chronic or cancer pain.
• Spinal Cord Injury Medicine - addresses the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of traumatic spinal cord injury and non-traumatic causes of spinal cord dysfunction.

Training/residency information

Residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation consists of one year of general clinical training followed by three years of physical medicine and rehabilitation training. Up to one year of additional training is required to practice in one of the subspecialty areas.

Workforce and salary information

According to the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Review and Update of the 1995 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Workforce Study, "the amount of physiatric services demanded will approximately equal the number of physiatrists available to provide those services through 2017." The annual salary for physiatrists ranges from $173,000 to $312,010.

For more information

• American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
• American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
• American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
• American Pain Society
• American Physical Therapy Association
• National Rehabilitation Information Center

Source: The American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the MGMA Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2004 Report Based on 2003 Data. Reprinted with permission from the Medical Group Management Association, 104 Inverness Terrace East, Englewood, Colorado 80112-5306; 303.770.1111. www.mgma.com. Copyright 2004.

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