Staying Up Late (or Early) for Performing Arts Medicine

Yesterday (more like earlier today – it was 1 AM) I had the privilege and honor to speak to medical students interested in PM&R (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physiatry, Rehabilitation Medicine) from Chicago. The Chicago PM&R Medical Students Fellowship has a monthly meeting under the mentorship of Dr. Ravi Kasi at Rush University. They usually […]

Performing Arts Medicine Infographics

Performing Arts Medicine #infographics from ballet dancer and #physical therapy student Anika Margarita Ramiro, summarizing how physical therapists (physiotherapists) can keep performing artists healthy. As the mnemonic says in the second photo… BRAVO 🙂 (brava, Anika!) #rehabilitation #PT She references two presentations by myself and Dr. Renald Ramiro, and the paper I co-authored with Dr. […]

Exercise and Dance in Parkinson’s Disease (PD)

In the last blog post, I discussed how Parkinson’s disease can affect function, i.e., how you get through the activities of your day. In this post, I tackle how exercise – as part of a rehabilitation program – helps in Parkinson’s Disease. Rehabilitation in Parkinson’s disease is goal-based. What does that mean? It means that […]

How does Parkinson’s Disease affect function? Or, why can’t I do what I used to do?

What is Parkinson’s disease? I do not want to reinvent the wheel, so I’m going to direct you to this very good explanation from the Mayo Clinic and the Parkinson’s Foundation. How does rehabilitation help? While rehabilitation cannot make Parkinson’s Disease go away, it can help by improving function and enhancing quality of life. To […]

Trans-Pacific Education in Rehabilitation Medicine during the COVID-19 Pandemic

It’s been a busy two months with Rehabilitation Medicine education! Let’s start with the clinical field I am most passionate about. The Philippine General Hospital Department of Rehabilitation Medicine is celebrating its 50th year as a department with Insights: Looking In & Beyond, a monthly webinar series of special topics in Rehabilitation Medicine. I had […]

Inclusivity and disability in the news this week

I saw several pieces in the electronic media this week that highlight the growing efforts to include persons with disability in everyday life. The European Space Agency put out a call for astronauts with physical disabilities – a push for parastronauts to be included in the entering class of 2021. In its own words, the […]

Training to be a Physiatrist (and Beyond)

I wrote some basic information about Rehabilitation Medicine in the first post for this category. You can read that here to refresh your memory. Specialty training in Rehabilitation Medicine occurs in residency (side note: it’s called “residency” because in the past, graduate medical education required the trainees to live in the hospital – thus they […]

How I Got Here: Choosing a Medical Specialty

The Personal Statement is part of the residency application packet for specialty training in the USA. It complements the curriculum vitae detailing the applicant’s education and previous experience, and the recommendation letters from faculty members or other people that have worked with the applicant. My Personal Statement began with “I was the Orthopedic Disaster of […]

Rehabilitation Medicine (JOINT journal entry)

August 22, 1998 Saturday Dear everyone-on-my-generic-on-line-journal-of-internship mailing list, Hello! This installment of the journal is about my 2-week rotation in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, which happens to be my specialty of choice. Duh? For people who do net know about this young field, Rehabilitation (a.k.a. Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, PM&R or Physiatry) is called […]

What is Rehabilitation Medicine?

Rehabilitation Medicine is also known as Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R), Physical Rehabilitation and Medicine (PRM) or Physiatry (fizz-ee-AHT-ree, or fee-SIGH-ah-tree; from the Greek physio = of nature or physical, iatrea = act of healing or doctor). As you can see, this medical specialty has some sort of an identity crisis… which does not help […]