Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

BRIEF DESCRIPTION - Medical Student will have an opportunity to work closely with an interventional physiatrist during this elective rotation. He/She will rotate with him in the outpatient clinics at Bassett Spine Center and Oneonta Specialty Services (OSS) and Bassetts Herkimer clinic. also observe the interventional procedures performed in the operating room at OSS and Herkimer clinic.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES - At the end of the rotation the student should be able to differentiate spinal disorders due to various pathological conditions, formulate a diagnosis and treatment for spinal disorders, and develop skills in reading musculoskeletal imaging. , the student will learn how to assess patients with newly acquired impairments and prescribe a rehabilitation program geared toward optimizing functional recovery. student will also develop skills in the musculoskeletal, spine and neurological examinations and gain exposure to physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other modalities such as ultrasound, TENS, and

LEARNING EXPERIENCE - The student will learn about the specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation and interventional pain management. He/she will develop skills in taking history from patients with acute/chronic back pain and other common pain syndromes. The student will learn how to assess patietns with newly acquired impairments and prescribe a rehabilitation program geared toward optimizing functional recovery. The student will have exposure to the practice of office based interventional physiatry, functional capacity evaluation, office based injection procedures such as trigger joint injection and intraarticular injections, and various interventional pain management techniques under fluoroscopic guidance.

FEEDBACK - Informal and continous

EVALUATION - Evaluation will be given by Dr. Ramasamy through observation of clinical activities.

DATA - Given all year. Maximum number of students per month: two . Housing is provided when available, with the exception of the months of June and July. No night calls. Rotations of less than four weeks are available.

COURSE DIRECTOR - Muthu M. Ramasamy, M.D., F.R.C.S.