Physiatrists are the team players of all the medical specialties. They work with therapists, case managers, nurses, admissions and more. PM&R doctors are the team leaders. They must have great communications and interpersonal skills.
Physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians also are familiar with so many diagnoses like Brain Injury Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Neuromuscular Medicine, Pain Medicine, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine, and/or Sports Medicine.
PM&R doctors may do many procedures depending on the injury, illness, or disabling condition. Physical medicine and rehabilitation jobs are available with the focus of these procedures: EMG/Nerve Conduction Studies, Ultrasound guided procedures, Fluoroscopy guided procedures, Injections of spine, Discography, Disc Decompression and Vertebroplasy/Kyphoplasty, nerve Stimulators, Blocks and Ablation procedures—Peripheral and Spinal, Injections of joints, Prolotherapy, Spasticity Treatment (Phenol and Botulinum toxin injections, intrathecal baclofen pump trial and implants), Nerve and Muscle Biopsy, Manual Medicine/Osteopathic Treatment, Prosthetics and Orthotics, Complementary-alternative medicine (i.e. acupuncture, etc.), Disability/impairment assessment, and Medicolegal consulting.
If you’re an experienced physiatrist and looking for a new physical medicine and rehabilitation job, you probably know what to look for in a new position and what’s not of interest to you. You have the advantage of experience that has informed you of what you truly like and dislike. Some physiatrists even try locum tenens before their first permanent job to identify what practice type is of most interest to them. It is a financially-rewarding way see different practice types and learn what works best for them.
With the advantage of experience, there are so many factors that may drive your next physical medicine and rehabilitation job search. You may be in a situation where the billing system isn’t good so you know to make sure to inquire about it this time around. Or, maybe the camaraderie in the group you’re with is lacking so now you know to talk with each of the associates carefully in the new groups with whom you’ll be interviewing. The list goes on and on, e.g., your relationship with administration is not good, you might prefer a hospital employee position instead of being with a private practice, you may not be being paid enough, or you may be working 24/7.
Experienced physiatrists are much savvier therefore about their practice searches. As is the case whenever you’re doing a physical medicine and rehabilitation job search, it is best to identify your strong likes and dislikes. These can be used at the tail-end of your search when you can use these to weigh the pro’s and con’s of openings.
Employers often favor experienced physiatrists for the very same reason because they know what they want and don’t want. For this reason, they are more likely to stay with their second and on physical medicine and rehabilitation jobs. Job longevity is very important to the hiring entity. Also, experienced physiatrists can transition into a new entity quickly and efficiently.
Some of the former con’s of physical medicine and rehabilitation jobs have been eliminated over the course of time. For example, with the inclusion of hospitalists in many settings, physiatrists no longer have to take care of the patients’ medical issues. Also, hospitalists have lessened the call demands on physiatrists.
Now, many hiring entities employ physiatrists so that you have the security of a salary and benefits. On the other hand, one physiatrist’s job pro may be another physiatrist’s con. Some physiatrists prefer an independent contractor affiliation as they favor direct, full reimbursement.
Here are some physiatry jobs exclusively for experienced physiatrists:
AL – Birmingham, Residency Program Director, SCI opening also available
- Golden opportunity in academic leadership
- Growing and successful PM&R program
- Super-collaborative group
- Rated top large employer in the nation
- A known TBI and SCI model system site
- Birmingham has the Lakeshore Foundation which is the home of para-Olympic training
- Recently succeeded from an advanced program to a categorical program
- Level I trauma center
- The SCI Model System has been continuously funded since 1998
- Academics, clinical and research; can just do academics and research if desired
AZ – Phoenix Mostly Inpatient, Similar openings nationwide
- Reap the benefits of well-trained outreach teams to maximize the patient load
- Associate with a national leader in rehab which has a great ability to market and represent rehab on all fronts
- High income potential
- Work with two nationwide companies, experts in hospitals and in rehab
- Salary plus incentive
- Must be Board Certified
CO – Denver Interventional, Similar openings in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Chicago, Nashville, Kansas City
- No narcotics or chronic pain
- No Medicare or Medicaid
- This large network gives you the first-choice ability to move to another city
- Lifestyle-friendly practice environment with a rapidly growing, thriving organization
- Procedure suites in the office
- Nurse practitioners in every office
- Equal distribution of new patients
- Monthly incentive bonuses typically range from $5,000 – $15,000
DE– Georgetown & Dover – Mostly inpatient, Similar openings in LA -New Orleans, ND-Fargo, TX-Houston
- 10 minutes to the beach; Dover is the state capitol
- 2019, 2020 Dover Rehab Hospital was the company’s rehab hospital of the year and #1 in quality outcomes ranking for all company rehab hospitals in 2021
- The Dover hospital has a full census so it’s expanding
- The Georgetown, DE rehab hospital is under construction with a Spring, 2022 start date
- 1:4 call and only when admissions
- Internal medicine support and 43 different specialists
- DE has a great rehab need as there are only 125 rehab beds for 1M state residents
- Internists are on call on the weekends
FL – Tallahassee, Medical Director, Rehab – Similar openings in Ocala, Pensacola and Panama City
- Help build a brand-new program
- Strong support system
- In 2019, Southern Living Magazine recognized Tallahassee as “One of the South’s Best Cities”
- 266-bed acute care hospital; named one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopaedic Surgery
- $23M, 20-bed rehab center opening in 2022
- State Capitol
ME – Near Portland – Interventional
- Growing, expanding successful multidisciplinary practice
- In-house injection suite
- PT’s, athletic trainers, personal trainers and more
- Attached to a 10,000 square foot indoor sports performance center
- Work with a NP
- 4 days/week, great benefits
- In-office injection suite
- Partnership potential
- Opportunity to buy into the office building as well; potential ASC affiliation
- Near Portland, the largest city in ME, among the top US cities for restaurants and bars per capita; Arts District, Foods Festivals; 105 miles to Boston
WA – Spokane – Outpatient Spasticity Management Practice Purchase
- One of the area’s leaders in spasticity rehab
- Long-standing reputation with 24 years in operation
- An ideal practice for someone that wants to reduce their hours. No weekend work, very little over-night call, easy billing, but still have the opportunity to interact with patients.
- This practice is almost all procedures.
- Located in the heart of downtown Spokane, WA near many medical centers
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