Hello everyone,
Sir I am at present doing my prelimn yr in general surgery and wud be joining my parent PM&R program next yr.I am exactly not clear wht fellowship I wud go for after completing my residency but seems like Int. pain wud be my first choice and MSK/sports will be 2nd..So can u guys let me know wht should I start doing frm now to strengthen my creds to achieve my goal since I have some time rt now and want to do devote some of my time to research in field of pain or MSK..If anyone is involved in research and feel tht I can be of any help..Please guide me so that I can start working for my future goal rt nw..Wud appreciate uer suggestions.
Regards to you all and dr.gecko with whom I have been in touch but he doesnt seem to be active these days on forum bcoz of his job..
Thanks
draayan
I have a few suggestions:
First, don't worry about your fellowship...yet. Concentrate on the present, and work hard at learning from each of your learning exposures. Read about your current rotation topics, and about literature relevant to your specific patients. Consistently excellent effort and performance provides its own reward to YOU, both in terms of what you have learned, and the respect that your attendings will accord you when your reputation of being a solid resident circulates. Consistent excellent performance trumps occasional excellence/performance on demand. The letters of recommendation from your Chair/residency program director won't hurt either. Residents sometimes make the mistake of "going through the motions" when working on rotations that they believe they won't like. BIG MISTAKE. Give yourself a chance to like what you are doing. Who knows, you may find (as I did) that there is a lot to like in a physiatry subspecialty OTHER than MSK/pain. Even if you end up in MSK, you will be a better, more rounded, physiatrist.
Second, assuming that you do end up deciding to pursue MSK/pain, learn more, read more, and not just about MSK/pain. You will find a lot of MSK pain in other fields of physiatry-SCI, stroke, TBI, and these learning experiences will help you. Take advantage of those clinical learning opportunities. Find out who the best MSK-attendings/mentors are in your program, and talk with them. The rapport you establish can help both in terms of working together during later clinical rotations, and help identify potential clinical research opportunities if you have a suitable mentor.
Third, I wouldn't get too focused on hunting down fellowship information/opportunities until your PGY3 year. Toward the middle/end of your PGY3 year, you probably will have had at least one or even two outpatient musculoskeletal/pain/spine type rotations, and will have heard about prior grads who had pursued MSK/oriented careers/fellowships. Talk to them. You will be in a better position to get help regarding how to proceed from there.
Finally, don't get too focused regarding research in MSK/pain, particularly early on. Your interest in research will generally be viewed as a positive by your attendings, but not if it comes at the expense of your clinical performance. Physiatry needs clinical investigators, and better clinical research. I would recommend working with better clinical research mentors, even if they are not involved in pain/MSK, over basic science mentors in pain/MSK subjects. Both are good, but learning clinical research skills from experienced mentors will serve you better, enhancing the likelihood that you will apply the principles to clinical settings later on, as well as the probability that you will finish one (or more) projects during residency. Optimally, you will have a strong clinical research/mentor in pain/MSK.
Hope this helps.
