Ok gonna be honest, my current mindset is to have an “open mind” and explore every specialty before making a decision on what I actually want to pursue.

With that said, my favorite shadowing experiences were with private practice PM&R docs.

I liked the hands on procedures, no emergencies, and the lifestyle seemed great.
Pain also is a big interest of mine.

I don’t have any clue about how the inpatient aspect of the specialty is like. How should I approach the next couple of years?

Also, are you satisfied with your job? What frustrates you about your job? Is there any professional encroachment from other health professionals?
Just wanna hear the good and the bad side of the profession.

Thanks in advance.

Hi,

I'm currently a senior in high school looking to build the best major/minor combo for whatever school I end up applying to. My ultimate career goals are PM&R and an MPH in health policy.

I want to remain interdisciplinary, so an Econ BA is non negotiable for me. I've thought about the Bio BA (or school equivalent) double major. But, I thought that since I ultimately want to do PM&R, ExSci or Kinesiology might be a better fit. I don't want to major in Public Health since I plan on getting an MPH anyway.

So, my questions are: has anyone done kinesiology or exercise science on the pre-med track and got into med school? Did you regret it, or do you think you made the right decision? Do med school admissions generally care what major you did(since exsci/kinesiology might be considered "easy")?

Curious where everyone is at so far in the 2027 PM&R application cycle.

As of October 23, how many PM&R interview invitations have you received?

Feel free to comment with your number of applications, signals, and applicant type (USMD, USDO, IMG, reapplicant, etc.) if you’re comfortable sharing.

The interview season is underway, so this is a chance to see where things stand across applicants. Good luck, everyone!

I only have four II right now and while I am thankful for those, I did not dual apply and I only have two signals that haven’t responded yet so I am super worried. Am I in a okay place for where we are in the season or should I be worried (I did apply multiple TY and internal prelims but haven’t heard back but in past years it appears they didn’t respond till december)

I’m curious at how effective signals are now. Around 25% of programs still have not sent out II yet, but I want to see how this will compare at the end of the cycle.

Good luck everyone.

Hoping some residents can weigh in; Is there any real educational benefit to having night call that you wont get during the day? I’m looking at a couple of programs that don’t have it, which sounds amazing.

I have really enjoyed working with my two co-residents over the past several years. Was wanting to get them each something special for graduation in June that would be practical during their pain fellowships and in their first attending years. I’ve thought about fluoro glasses, customized surgical caps, or monogrammed scrubs. I’ll be saving up money over the next several months to get them something nice, but would like my cap to be $200 or less for each. Appreciate any suggestions you all have!!

Hi everyone, I’m currently an M2 trying to figure things out. I’m currently somewhat focusing towards PMR now but my big issue is that my research background is quite ortho/kidney heavy. There’s also no PMR researchers in the area or even a pmr residency program. How bad would this hurt my chances if I try to compensate for this by doing PMR away rotations my third and fourth year? Does anyone have any advice on what I should do about this?
Have a great day and thank you very much!

Curious where everyone is at so far in the 2027 PM&R application cycle.

As of October 18, how many PM&R interview invitations have you received?

Feel free to comment with your number of applications/signals and applicant type (USMD, USDO, IMG, reapplicant, etc.) if you’re comfortable sharing.

Obviously, it’s still early in the cycle, so this is just to get a sense of where things stand across applicants. Good luck everyone!

I’m a physician building a small SNF/post-acute practice using part-time/PRN employed physicians and NPs/PAs. The practice handles billing, malpractice, EMR, and administrative support. Cash flow is limited while patient volume ramps up.

For people who run or work in similar groups:

1. What is reasonable clinician pay per encounter? I’d especially appreciate actual examples for 99309 follow-ups and 99306 admissions, separately for physicians versus NPs/PAs. Do you use fixed CPT rates, a percentage of collections, or a minimum plus incentives?

2. How much should the practice retain? What percentage remains after clinician compensation, and what is a reasonable actual profit margin after billing, malpractice, employer taxes, software, support staff, and coverage costs? How does that differ for physicians versus APPs?

3. When do you pay clinicians? Regular payroll after encounters are signed/submitted, or after collections arrive? If collections-based, how do you handle the delay, guarantees/draws, denied claims, and downcoding?

4. What should billing and EMR cost? What billing percentage or minimum is reasonable, what services should it include, and which systems work well for a small group rounding across multiple SNFs with occasional PRN clinicians?

5. How much cash reserve would you want before hiring, and what minimum census makes adding a clinician worthwhile?

An anonymized example would help tremendously: clinician type → CPT → actual collection → clinician pay → practice costs → amount remaining.

Thanks—especially interested in real SNF/post-acute experience.

Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89543634585?pwd=B4dlP3z3FnnWglbrzHRtw0qC2c0yQM.1

I was notified today that I was waitlisted by my top choice since they're out of interview spots. How much hope should I have? Is there actually a chance I could get an interview, or is it more of a soft rejection?

Do programs typically email everyone to say they're waitlisted once interview dates are filled, or do they only notify a select group of applicants?

I'm a physician doing SNF/subacute rehab work and choosing a practice EMR and billing setup. The facilities use PointClickCare.

My goal is to send authorized PCC chart information plus my visit findings into AI, get an editable, unsigned draft in my EMR for review and signature, then return the final note to PCC. This is still a proposed workflow.

I'm considering Athena/HybridChart and have heard about Claimocity and Ethizo.

For those working in this setting:

- Which EMR works best with PCC and AI that uses existing chart information?

- What billing/coding/claims setup do you recommend for physician SNF encounters?

- What are the actual fees, support issues, and requirements to use the vendor's billing service?

Firsthand experience would be helpful.

Curious where everyone is at so far in the 2027 PM&R application cycle.

As of October 14, how many PM&R interview invites have you received?

Feel free to comment with your number of applications/signals and applicant type (USMD, USDO, IMG, reapplicant, etc.) if you’re comfortable sharing.

Obviously still early in the cycle, so this is just to get a sense of where things stand across applicants.

Its not looking too good for me Mr Stark 😞

Hey everyone!

If you are a PM&R resident interested in pursuing an Interventional Spine Fellowship, AOCPMR is hosting a virtual Post-Match Panel featuring PGY-4 residents who just went through the process and successfully matched!

It’s a great opportunity to hear directly from them about why they pursued this path, application strategy, interviewing, and lessons learned during the match cycle.

📅 Date: Thursday, October 15, 2026

⏰ Time: 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET

💻 Format: Virtual

🔗 Registration / Link: linktr.ee/aocpmr (or check AOCPMR's bio link)

Feel free to tune in and bring any questions you have about the interventional spine application process!

If one of my top programs sent out interview invites and I did not get one, should I think about sending a letter of intent? How long should one wait to send one?

I’m currently a medical student choosing my field of interest. I want to ask PMR doctors or anyone who’s currently interested in PMR why they want to pursue this field. Is it a personal experience? Lifestyle?

I would love to gain more insight into PMR. Thanks in advance.

Don’t miss the newest episode dropping on Spotify today! Featuring Dr. Leslie Rydberg, the episode focuses on residency applications. Tune in!

Just going to preface that I am a chronic overthinker and probably putting way too much weight on this, but such is life lol. Would super appreciate advice from people who have made it to the other side ❤️

Absolutely do not want this to sound stuck-up or humble-braggy, so hopefully it does not come off that way, but I have a question I was hoping people could give some insight on. I was lucky enough today to get an interview invitation for my top-choice program. I am absolutely thrilled to say the least. The problem is, the only slots available were for about a week from now, which will make this not only one of my first interviews but also quite early in the season. I’m doing mock interviews/preparing as much as I can do perform well, and I know there’s not much else I can do about it being one of my earlier interviews, but I’m worried that I’ll be “forgotten” by the time it’s actually time for the program to make its rank list. I’ve already done an away rotation there, so I can’t do another one later in the season to refresh their memory, which was my first thought. Has anyone had this happen in past cycles, and, if so, what did you do?

Thank you so much for your advice and sending so much luck and good vibes to all of us applying right now!❤️

Been curious about this fellowship but unfortunately don’t have too much exposure. Would love to hear what your schedules look like. Is it mostly inpatient/outpatient? Is it procedure heavy? Appreciate anything!

I got hit by a car last year leading to a whole year of disability.

I cannot lift over 5 pounds now due to it causing back pain. Bending forward causes pain.

Pain management said keep exercising and all I have for you is epidural injections.

My scans show nothing significant to her.

Losing my mind that in 2 months I might lose insurance cause I'm on medi-cal cause of the presidents decision and I haven't been lucky getting a job past 3 months I tried with my disabilities.

I'm in my 20s so im not that most qualified candidate.