Spaulding Rehabilitation Medical Student Training

Overview

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital educates and trains medical students through two advanced clinical elective clerkships in physical medicine and rehabilitation, PMR553M.27: Introduction to PM&R and PMR532M.27: Pediatric Rehabilitation. The MGB Department of PM&R at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital also provides additional learning opportunities in PM&R for Harvard Medical School students within their core curriculum.

Requirements

Visiting students must be in their final 12 months of medical school to apply for a clerkship position. Please see the Harvard Medical School registrar’s website for further eligibility requirements.

Curriculum

PMR 553M.27: Introduction to PM&R
Clerkship Director: Dorothy W. Tolchin, MD, EdM

Course Description: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians provide care for people with a range of conditions associated with disability. This four-week introductory clerkship provides exposure to the breadth of PM&R, highlighting PM&R's patient-centered approach, focusing on optimizing function and quality of life, and interprofessional collaborative practice. Students may work with patients with spinal cord injury/disease, brain injury, stroke, amputation, burns, musculoskeletal conditions, sports-related injuries, concussion, and/or other conditions that impact short or long-term function. Students will gain exposure to aspects of rehabilitation care including medical evaluation and management, physical, occupational, speech, and recreational therapies, evaluation/fitting for adaptive equipment, and transitions across settings of rehabilitation care. Students participate in interactive didactics provided by residents and attendings throughout the clerkship. Students learn rehabilitation-focused history-taking, neuromusculoskeletal physical examination skills, condition-specific management, diagnosis and management of secondary complications of immobility, and provision of high-quality care for patients with disabilities and their families. Students are expected to attend all resident and medical student didactic sessions and assigned clinical experiences. Students are also expected to be respectful of all patients and staff and to be committed to learning about disability and its implications. No prior rehabilitation medicine experience required.

This clerkship is based at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Charlestown, with satellite clinic sites located across Greater Boston.

PMR532M.27: Pediatric Rehabilitation
Clerkship Director: Brian Wishart, DO

Course Description: The rotation in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine will offer the student experience working with children with disabilities. Students will work with patients and families, learn about the pathophysiology and management of multiple conditions including cerebral palsy, neuromuscular conditions, and acquired brain injury. The student may see patients on the inpatient unit, outpatient clinics and operating room. Students are expected to be an active participant with the team, read and research pertinent topics and present on one topic of their choosing by the end of the rotation. No prior rehabilitation medicine experience required.

This clerkship is based at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Charlestown, with satellite clinic sites located across Greater Boston.

How to Apply

Visiting students must apply through VSLO. Eligibility requirements and detailed instructions can be found at the Harvard Medical School Registrar’s website.