It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) webpage. We are a group of specialist physicians who work with people that have disabilities, with the goal of maximizing their function and quality of life, while minimizing the complications that often accompany significant disabilities. Typically, we work in teams made up of various clinicians to ensure that every opportunity is given to patients following an illness or injury. Our role in the team is to optimize the patient’s medical issues. We treat patients with impairments such as strokes, spinal cord injuries, amputations, brain injuries and bone/joint injuries. This year has seen a lot of changes with the introduction of a new program director in February and a new division head (myself) in March.

Our group is made up of about 30 faculty who are dedicated to best practices and teaching the next generation of PM&R specialists. We were pleased that two of our residents received awards for best paper at our national conference in May 2020. Several of our faculty taught at the national review course in March. Some of our members serve at the Royal College as examiners. One of the benefits of PM&R as a career is the breadth of possibilities. Our members have an exceptionally wide array of interests in caring for patients across the lifespan and spectrum of disabilities. Some have done a great deal of work in sports medicine, including Paralympic sports. There are a variety of diagnostic and interventional activities including electromyography, spasticity management, pain management, cancer rehab, amputee and orthotic care, stroke, spinal cord injury and head injury to name a few of the impairment groups that we care for. Some are leading rehabilitation in the developing world in Guatemala, Ugand and Nepal.

This coming year will bring us together to take a close look at where we have come from and decide on our strong points on which to build. We will undergo a decision-making process to define where we plan to go in the next five years. We will put a close lens on the strengths of the division and adopt a plan for things we feel are important to accomplish. We are excited about the possibilities in setting priorities to which we will commit.