Residency

Susan V. Garstang, M.D., Residency Program Director
Steven Kirshblum, M.D., Associate Residency Program Director
Michele Browne, Residency Program Coordinator

General information about our residency program

The UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School integrated hospitals offer a fully accredited residency program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R). The three-year program begins at the PGY-2 level. The American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation sets the guidelines for appropriate PGY-1 training in preparation for entering a PM&R residency. UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School has offered a residency program in PM&R since 1982. Our three-year residency program is fully accredited for four years by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Our residency training program provides a stimulating educational environment in which the resident can develop the professional knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to practice the highest standards of physiatry. We have established a core curriculum in research for residents and have many research opportunities for medical students. There is an active research program in the physiological, psychological, behavioral, and engineering aspects of rehabilitation within the Department as well as collaborative projects with other UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School departments. Current research programs are underway to improve the functional abilities of persons with disabilities resulting from stroke, head injury, spinal cord injury, neuromuscular disease, pulmonary disease, and amputations. Projects include driver's training, functional electrical stimulation, advanced EMG, fatigue, exercise, treatment of depression, prosthetic design, geriatrics, sexuality, family training and others. A major UMDNJ affiliate, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, recently completed a $5 million building project which houses 7,000 square feet of research space. This space has been designed to include a human performance laboratory to measure motor control and coordination, the autonomic nervous system and to study exercise physiology as well as evaluate peripheral blood flow. It contains a gait laboratory and a quantitative electrodiagnostic suite. A computer room is also available to aid in outcome studies. Research space is also available at the East Orange Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Exercise Physiology Laboratory, and some research space is also available at University Hospital in Newark .

For 15 consecutive years, 100% of our residents who took Part I (written) of the PM&R Board exams during their year of graduation have passed this exam.  Our residents regularly win national awards and earn appointment to national committees and task forces, strengthening their candidacy when they apply for jobs or fellowships.  We invite medical students and physicians interested in a career in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation to investigate our excellent residency program.

We participate with the National Resident Matching Program .

Applications for PGY-2 positions beginning on July 1, 2007 will be accepted only via ERAS.  ERAS will begin accepting applications September 1, 2005. For our PGY-2 positions, the deadline for receiving applications is November 1, 2005 .  The UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School PM&R program does not offer its own transitional year in fundamental clinical skills, so applicants must therefore apply for this PGY-1 training separately through other facilities.  The following supporting documentation must be submitted to ERAS along with your application:

• Three letters of recommendation
• Current C.V. clearly explaining any time gaps
• Dean's letter
• Medical school transcript
• USMLE/COMLEX transcript (no specific score criteria)
• Current ECFMG certificate (as applicable)
• J-1 visa (as applicable)
• At least one year of clinical experience in the U.S. is mandatory (this may be a preliminary or transitional year)

The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Fellowship Programs :

Applications for these fellowships are accepted during the senior year of residency.

The Department has the most extensive fellowship offerings in the country, including the following programs:

• Spinal Cord Injury Medicine (ACGME accredited)
• Pediatric Rehabilitation
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Sports Medicine
• Stroke
• Research (Neuropsychology & Neuroscience)
• Research (Medical Rehabilitation Outcomes)

For applications and further information please contact :

Michele Browne
Coordinator, Residency Training Program
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
pmrresid@umdnj.edu
30 Bergen Street
ADMC 101
Newark, NJ  07101-1709
Phone: (973) 972-3606