PM and what?

So I'm here in Bend OR for a rotation, but this time I get to help others heal not their minds (did a psych rotation back in Sept), but their bodies.....Vague, yes, because that is the problem I am having when it comes to telling others what kind of medicine I would like to pursue. It's unfortunate that I can't just roll off one word from the tip of my tongue, like surgeon, or pediatrician, with the subsequent complete understanding of the receiver. Everyone knows what a surgeon is and what they do, and the same applies to pediatricians, OB/GYNs, family docs, cancer docs. I'm sorry to say that I can't so easily just roll one word off the top of my head to describe the very very very specialized type of doctor I would like to become.

If you have been following this blog for awhile (not sure if any of you are still out there), then you probably know or at least have heard before about physical medicine and rehabilitation, or physiatry, or PM & R. Now, I am fortunate that most doctors know what I'm talking about when I say that is my chosen field of practice. But a lot of my fellow students don't know about it, most likely because my medical school does not have a residency in this area of medicine, which translates to there being ZERO exposure to the field. There are two advisers at my school that are physiatrists, twin brothers in fact, and they have been my tenuous link to this field in the past two years. I did find out about another doc in this field over at the VA, but after I had already been at OHSU for almost 2 years. I met with him once for 15 minutes, but was unable to continue the connection (he never returned my emails, so I gave up).

I'm very happy to say that I have been working for the past 3 weeks in Bend with a group of (get this) 6 physiatrists, and they have been fantastic. Each one has gone to a different residency program, so they have been a wealth of information about the training programs, as well as about the field in general. I haven't seen anything yet to turn me away from the speciality - in fact, I so enjoy going to work everyday with them that I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

So what do they do exactly? The PM&R Association website states "rehabilitation physicians are medical doctors who restore maximal function lost through injury, illness, or disabling conditions, and are experts in diagnosing and treating pain." That about sums it up, and there is a long list of conditions that physiatrist treat including stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, amputations, arthritis, work injuries, back and neck pain, to name just a few. So the question is, how can I easily describe what I want to be to those that are not in the medical field? I tried to tell my husband's cousins once, and after using way too many words, one of them replied, so you're going to be a physical therapist? Oh ya, and if I cut it way down and say I'm going to be a rehab doctor, most lay people think I mean drug or alcohol rehab. Sigh....

Understand that it's important for me to figure out how to describe what I will be doing for the rest of my life because I already feel such a great divide between myself and those in my life that are not in the medical field. With each new medical concept I stuff into my brain, I find it harder and harder to talk about everyday things. It's like my husband and other spouses of my fellow medical students notice about our medical school parties - we all get together and talk about medicine.

So I would like to take a vote for all those who are still reading this blog. Here are some ideas about short succinct ways to describe a physiatrist. Let me know what you think!

I'm going to be:

1. A doctor of physical disability

2. A doctor of muscle and nerve injuries

3. A doctor of physical medicine and rehabilitation (this hasn't worked so far)

4. A pain doctor

5. A doctor in between a neurologist and a orthopedic surgeon

6. A doctor of physical function

7. A doctor of injury

8. A doctor of musculoskeletal medicine

Any other ideas, just shoot them my way! Cheers!