Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine

About the Program

The Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at SUNY Downstate Medical Center offers a three-year residency training program fulfilling requirements leading to eligibility for certification by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Fully-accredited, the program accepts six residents annually for a program of study which includes three years of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency training, which concludes in all residents prepared to take and pass the Board examination. The program provides a well-balanced, in-depth clinical exposure, utilizing rotations at five affiliated institutions. In addition to University Hospital of Brooklyn, residents rotate through Kings County Medical Center, Long Island College Hospital, Staten Island University Hospital and St Johns Episcopal in Far Rockaway.

Prerequisites

A prerequisite PGY 1 is required prior to admission to the program to develop fundamental clinical skills. This year of training in fundamental clinical skills must consist of an accredited Transitional Year or include at least six months in accredited training in family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, pediatrics, or surgery, or any combination of these patient care experiences. The remaining months of this year may include any combination of accredited specialties or subspecialties. Accredited training in any of the specialties or subspecialties selected must be for a period of at least four weeks. No more than eight weeks may be in non-direct patient care experiences, such as pathology, radiology and research. SUNY Downstate does offer positions to fulfill this prerequisite, in the Department of Surgery.

Research

With research as an integral part of the program, residents are required to complete at least one poster presentation at an annual conference and a case study prior to graduation. To aid residents in this endeavor, they are presented with multiple opportunities to conduct research with the assistance of members of the faculty, the orthopedic research department and the human performance laboratory. Whether clinical or laboratory-based, completed projects should be eligible for presentation to the PM&R scientific community and for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Conferences

To compliment the clinical experience, regular academic and didactic conferences occur. Residents do not have clinical responsibilities during scheduled conferences. Tuesday afternoons are devoted to review of board and SAE questions in preparation for the annual examinations. Didactic conferences, held on a weekly basis throughout the year include lectures by visiting professors, the PM&R faculty and faculty members of other departments, such as Orthopedic Surgery., Neurosurgery and Radiology. Journal Club and Grand Rounds are held weekly at SUNY Downstate and serve the dual purpose of educating our residents while providing a venue to share current information. Workshops and competency examinations are given in EMG and Musculoskeletal Examination are scheduled annually.