Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Electives in PM&R

Residents are assigned elective rotations in their PGY3 and PGY4 years.  The resident gets the opportunity to create their own schedule based on what experience they want to focus on.  We have ample faculty here at MCW and within the community that will allow the resident to create a unique training opportunity.

Elective in Italy

We recently were able to create an offsite elective with Dr. Daniela Jurisic, an MCW - PM&R alumnus, Assistant Clinical Professor and Dr. Cristiano Gandini, volunteer faculty who live in Italy. This one-month clinical experience will expose the senior resident (2 per year) to previously unencountered philosophies concerning the treatment of acute and chronic disabling pain, and will encourage the resident to continue critical re-appraisal of his/her practice methods by confrontation with a different cultural setting. 

Upon completion of this rotation, the resident should be able to:

1. Enter into a therapeutic relationship with the patient through discussion and assessment of history and physical findings
2. Develop a creative treatment plan which is patient-specific, and includes a follow-through phase for maintenance therapy once appropriate physical therapy goals have been achieved.
3. Discuss both a static and dynamic physical examination with the patient (and the treating physician) in a fashion relevant to the patient’s activities of daily living.
4. Describe an emotional profile of the patient and discuss how this might interact with the treatment of his/her chronic pain.
5. Describe common drug interactions based on lectures received from the Clinical Pharmacology specialist and Pain physician, and how these are relevant to treatment plans of chronic pain patients
6. Demonstrate knowledge of various philosophies on treatment of pain and how to choose the correct treatment profile for the specific patient (patient-tailored pain treatment)
7. Demonstrate a rudimentary knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology as it relates to exercise therapy practices of: exercise in water, yoga, t’ai chi.
8. Generate a stress-reduction treatment plan specific to patient needs, articulated in both time and space.
9. Gain self-awareness and acquire liberty in treatment choices, by expanding the therapeutic armamentarium “outside the drawn lines” but always within scientifically rooted and evidence-based techniques.

We are very excited about this educational opportunity and know that the senior residents able to participate will truly enjoy working with Dr. Jurisic and her colleagues in Pavia and Milan.