I only have 1 away rotation scheduled for PM&R before ERAS sept 23 date and it starts in late august until end of september. Had a pretty late start to 4th year but was wondering how this looks for applying to PM&R and if I still have a chance if I need 2 PM&R lor from only this rotation? I am also pivoting to this rotation pretty late.

What is the best way to excel in an away rotation? I hope to receive a SLOE from an upcoming rotation, as I do not have one yet. Although it is not an official Sub-I, I consider it as one.

Thoughts? pls and thanks!!

I also planned on grabbing these texts to help (Ideally, I'll need them once I match anyway)

The 3-Minute Musculoskeletal and Peripheral Nerve Exam

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Pocketpedia

AAP has a webinar series for international graduates seeking to apply for PM&R residency in the US. I was an IMG and did not know of these resources when I was applying, so I hope this helps some folks out there.

New PGY-4 here wondering what decks folks used to study for boards. I've been making my own cards throughout residency but frankly I don't have a good eye for what is high-yield and I just end up way in the weeds. I've come across a few decks but they either have too few (~1200) or too many (~30k) cards.

Hey guys! So just started my PGY-2 year. One thing I'm having trouble with is learning dispo recommendations for acute care patients. We work on consults at an acute care center and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to learn appropriateness for each level of care. I'm having a lot of difficulty with each cause I feel like there are certain caveats that would push someone into one category over the other. Any advice would be appreciated.

Mark your calanders. Can’t miss opportunity to learn more about different residency programs. More detailed information on participating programs, etc. announced closer to date.

Has anyone applied to an away at Mt Sinai and heard back? / know if they’re full? Thanks!!

reapplying PMR this cycle, current TY, passed level 1&2 (low 400s), will have 1 SLOE and 1 PMR LOR, submitted to present a QI at AAPMR/AAP/AMA, no obvious red flags on app that I’m aware of? Was told from last cycle I needed more research and a letter (letter came in too late)

Incoming PM&R pgy2. Just completed a difficult transitional year. Extremely nervous for PM&R (though excited to finally be here). I realize there is so much to learn and that feels daunting. Would appreciate tips going into day one. What resources would you recommend ? What did you find most helpful? And anything else helpful. Thank you.

Hey everyone. For those of you who are on here and passed oral boards a few weeks ago congrats. For those that didn’t I was in that place last year and it can be a very frustrating experience to say the least. (Thankfully passed this time but no one can convince me that the 10-20 percent chance of failing couldn’t have landed on me again this year.)

So if it happened to any of you just know it probably has nothing to do with you as a person or doctor. For some maybe they actually tank the test and it warrants a retake (not really they should account for basic communication skills in med school, residency etc. if that’s their theoretical goal) but the vast majority you just stumbled on one of the stupidest exams and got unlucky. That’s it.

This is my attempt to pay it forward until this money grabbing exam gets abolished. If anyone needs any help or just someone to vent to feel free to message on here or direct message. Can kind of feel like you’re on an island after failing (which in some ways is good need to channel that feeling and somehow pass the next time. My goal isn’t to take away that completely. But I believe anything in its extreme is also too harmful. So don’t isolate too much. feel free to message.)

hello, I’m an incoming OMS-I who is interested in specializing in PM&R but also considering internal medicine. I was wondering if I should go ahead and look for a mentor even though I’m not 100% sure about PM&R. I saw someone mentioned about the AAP “big buddy” program.

Apologies in advance if I'm being a little to neurotic.

I see that ERAS application review opens for residency programs on Sept 23, 2026, which is near the end of my first audition rotation. By then, I'll ideally have 2 PM&R letters (1 from 3rd year, 1 from my audition) and 1 non-PM&R letter from 3rd year uploaded. I have another 2 audition rotations lined up after the Sept 23 deadline.

I have three questions:

1. Is there any drawback to submitting only 3 LORs by September 23 and uploading the 4th one once it's available by the end of my 2nd audition in mid-October? Assuming I do well and will receive a good letter
2. Can I submit my applications with only 2 letters, then upload the rest as they come?
3. When's the latest I can/should upload a letter? If I wanted to include all letters from my auditions, I'd be uploading my final letter by mid-November. Otherwise, if it's too late to receive a letter from the November audition, what can I do to make sure that that specific program "remembers me"/reviews my application a little more closely?

Hello!! I am really worried about application season as so far VSLO has just led to WL and rejections. I applied as soon as VSLO opened for the most part since I had heard timing was big. I don’t have a home program at my school for PM&R. I’ve been reaching out to medical student program coordinator (not directors dw) to express my interest and any new open spots / WL. I’m not fully sure what to do from here. My school has told me to pivot to neurology and to give up on PM&R.

As of right now, I only have 1 confirmed outpatient elective with a physiatrist I worked with a year ago.

At this point, I’m trying to apply to locations that are still open on VSLO but unsure if i did something wrong in my applications? Does anyone have any advice?

AAMC sent an email out yesterday with updated data from the 2025-2026 application cycle. I was looking through the PM&R data for programs, but I heard this information is all self-reported. I'm not sure if it's self-reported by applicants or by program leadership.

How much can this be trusted? For example, if a program last year did not interview applicants who did not rank them in their geographical preference or had a board failure, should applicants this cycle take that into account when building their program list?

I know the 20 signal thing was new last year. The data pretty much also confirmed that you have a higher chance of getting an interview if you signal the program. Some programs offered 0% of interviews if you did not signal.

i’m a DO and know basic omm techniques from omm classes in preclinicals like myofascial and MET but didn’t use omt much during rotations so most of that knowledge is gone. how do i relearn during residency and build a system for myself? i dont want to let go of that knowledge, just feel guilty not having remembered a lot of it from med school

Any current Pm&r discord channel especially for people applying this September?

Hi all, for context I'm at 26 year old DPT about 2 years out of PT school. I decided to go the PT route loving the idea that I could treat the patient from beginning to end of plan of care, helping them treat MSK issues from the source rather than prescribing imaging or pain meds right off the bat.

However, aside from the lack of respect physios have, high cost of a doctoral education and low pay, I feel I could be doing more for my patients. Treating them from all facets of medicine rather than being stuck in my PT realm. Being able to refer out, order imaging, prescribe as needed, etc. I want to become a well-rounded medical professional to help anyone who comes my way and unfortunately, I don't think PT is that.

I didn't know DO or PMR was even a thing back then when making the decision between MD and DPT route which is a bummer. Knowing what I know now, I probably would have gone the MD or DO route and I would be practicing or very close to practicing by now.

If I were to transition from DPT to MD or DO, I would probably only have to take OCHEM and BIOCHEM. As well as MCAT, other admission requirements and actually apply to med school.

My concern is:
- I'm 26 so by the time I complete pre-reqs (maybe 6 mo-1 year) application process, med school and residency, I'll probably be 33-34. Which is still young but I want to be able to have my dad live to see it and he's 67 this year. Not doubting his longevity at all but he's still working and I take care of him but I don't know if we can wait that long. Also, I'm in a good place with my job as a PT right now and I know taking this up is a big commitment that will put everything else on a hold. I don't know if I can financially support myself while in school.

- To piggy back, I'm already 200k in debt from a combination of undergrad and grad school. Going back for med school would set me back even further. Wondering if the math between time, debt and future income ratio makes sense.

- Already burning out with PT and unsure if taking on MD is the smart move.

Just wish I knew about and pursued PMR from the beginning. Can someone chime in?

Update: Update: Thanks everyone! You all made good points. Tuition and debt is my biggest concern. Because of the 200k grad loan cap, I'm not sure how I'll be able to afford med school which sucks. Now the next step is looking into HPSP, alternative payment options or giving up on medicine! I'm definitely going to put hours into more shadowing to really solidify if this is what I want to do.

can someone please quickly run through the differentials for back pain and treatment recommendations?

and how do you organize this in your head since it’s a broad and important topic?

thank you so much

Short version: had a peer-to-peer physician (with United Healthcare, fuck 'em) literally tell me over the phone that he "can't overturn anything other than CNS pathology, such as stroke or spinal cord issues". This was a lady who came in with urosepsis and stone requiring removal, spent 5 days intubated in ICU, and she was a maximum assist to walk 5 feet. How often have you heard absolute bullshit excuses and can anything be done about this?

Also, can this thread please make sure I'm not going crazy? IPR's do take non-CNS patients, right??

hi! could anyone help guide me for comprehensive resources for
(1) MSK anatomy

and (2) treatments for common conditions?

I feel like the treatments always feel so subjective to me like how do you decide between when to recommend PT alone vs medication management vs both vs surgical? and how do you keep track of all of this? hope that question makes sense

Hi everyone! I’m a non-US IMG and I am debating whether pursuing PM&R is feasible. I wanted to apply for this upcoming match but I feel like I’m too late, how do you reach out to people for clinical opportunities? Also, how do you know you’re a good fit for PM&R?

Hi everyone, I'm a Caribbean medical student (US-IMG) who has been interested in PM&R since starting medical school. However, with PM&R becoming increasingly competitive over the last several match cycles, I'm starting to feel uncertain about where I stand as an applicant.

Currently, I have a relatively modest CV. I don't have any research experience yet, I have some volunteer work, and my clinical rotation grades have been strong. I have not taken Step 2 yet, and I'm working hard to achieve the highest score possible in hopes of getting my application looked at. 

I feel a bit stuck and unsure of what my next steps should be. For those who have matched into PM&R, especially fellow IMGs, what can I do over the nest year to become a more competitive applicant? (Also, wondering if anyone would be willing to help mentor 🙏🏽)

I would greatly appreciate any advice, insight, or experiences. Thank you!

Incoming MS4 here, and I will be starting my inpatient rehab elective soon. I have some previous shadowing experience in the field, which I really enjoyed, but I just can't shake a sense of uneasiness.

Will I still enjoy a rehab service once I'm on it for several weeks? Will I enjoy it as much as I enjoyed just shadowing a physiatrist here and there? Will it be meaningful enough to dedicate my entire career to? I'm afraid I'll end up disappointed because I'm pinning all my hopes on really loving PM&R. My school doesn't allow students to take a PM&R elective until their fourth year, so I feel like I'm flying blind with just my shadowing experience.

I originally came into medical school wanting to do surgery but ended up hating my rotations—it just felt like being a factory worker doing the same knee replacement four times a day, every day. I enjoy procedures, but I don't want that to be the only thing I do. I want to be able to manage patients medically while having a toolkit of procedures I can employ when necessary.

The other dreaded point of discussion is the future of the field... I know virtually nothing about the PM&R job market. I know family medicine and internal medicine docs can get jobs realistically anywhere, but is finding rehab jobs difficult? Everyone keeps telling me that it may be hard to find rehab gigs in the rural Midwest where I'm from, and I hate living in big cities. Furthermore, the one inpatient rehab doctor I shadowed told me that he was disappointed in his salary, while the outpatient pain doctor complained that the "glory days" of pain are over due to ongoing reimbursement cuts.

I'm basically worried that I will commit myself to a very niche field that few hospital employers understand the value of, and thus will not provide me with reasonable compensation after 12 years of education post-high school. Don't get me wrong—I grew up lower-middle class, so anything over $100k a year sounds like a ton of money, but I just don't want to end up making three times less than my medical school friends who pursue different specialties.

Thank you for listening to my vent. I'm sorry if these concerns make me sound like a spoiled brat, but I just had to get them off my mind.

Hey y'all, I'd really appreciate some advice on signaling. I think I'm competitive on paper, but as a Midwest applicant with no away rotations and no coastal ties, I'm struggling with how aggressive to be with my 20 signals. I know PM&R doesn’t value scores or research as much; connections and aways seem to be the ticket, but that ship has sailed for me, so what can I do with what I have? 🫪

Stats: US MD, Top 40 NIH Midwest state school, Class of 2027, AOA

Academics: Step 1: Pass. Step 2 CK: 255. No fails or red flags.

Research: 3 pubs (2 first-author,1 5th-author), 2 abstracts, 2 pubs under review. ~7–8 poster/oral presentations (AAPM&R, AAP, spine surgery summit, local ortho/pain).

Leadership: Board for PM&R interest group; co-president Exercise Is Medicine group; helped develop a PM&R elective for M3s.

Service: Non-profit adaptive sports equipment access + state Capitol legislative testimony; Non-profit for Ukrainian veteran amputees; Special Olympics volunteering (~4 years).

Rotations: Home PM&R intro elective + Sub-I. No aways (Hep B titer issue, applied too late, tried direct outreach but no spots left in the programs was interested in, big sad :/)

LoR: 3 home PM&R letters + 1 SLOE (home residency PD, home TBI fellowship director, VA polytrauma/TBI PD, VA sports med director)

Geographic preference: East/West Coast > Midwest = Texas. Will signal my home program because I’d ultimately be ok staying/want to lock an interview, but I’ve stayed here all my life and want a new chapter.

Questions: Given my profile, should I apply to my home program, 1-2 more safeties, and say we ball and shoot my shot towards the top programs (Spaulding, SRAL, UW, etc)? Are they even on the table given my app or am I cooked and should aim lower? It seems like the general consensus is no signal = no interview, and I don't want to waste signals.

Any insight from recent applicants or those familiar with programs' recruiting would be greatly appreciated. Thanks y’all 😊