The Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the Medical College of Wisconsin at the Zablocki VAMC offers a one-year ACGME-accredited fellowship in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine (SCIM).
Vaishnavi Muqeet, MD
Program Director
vaishnavi.muqeet@va.gov
Sue Abrahms
sabrahms@mcw.edu
Application Requirements (please note there is no centralized application process)
Please email the following documents to Beverly Pernitzke:
- Completed application (PDF)
- Personal Statement
- Current Curriculum Vitae
- Three letters of recommendation
- USMLE or COMPLEX Transcript
- ECFMG Certificate (International Applicants must be ECFMG certified prior to any interview)
Interested applicants must register for the NRMP Spinal Cord Injury Fellowship Match.
Interviews will be scheduled for July and August at the Zablocki VA in Milwaukee and at ASCIP in September.
Program Details
The SCIM Fellowship is a program with specialized training in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury. The program is open to physicians (US citizen or work eligible) who have successfully completed an ACGME-accredited residency in PM&R, plastic surgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family practice, internal medicine, neurological surgery, neurology, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, surgery, or urology. Successful completion of the fellowship program satisfies the eligibility requirement to take the examination in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine to obtain subspecialty certification in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine.
The SCIM Fellowship program at MCW is designed to provide an educational experience to ensure that its graduate possess the advanced knowledge and competencies necessary to practice this subspecialty.
The Fellow will be given the opportunity to gain knowledge of:
- The impact of spinal cord dysfunction (SCD) on the various organ systems,
- The natural history, pharmacologic management and evolution of organ system functioning after SCD and the interaction among the various organ systems,
- The impact of aging and long-standing injury on organ system decline,
- The prevention and treatment of secondary complications of SCD, and
- The maximal functions possible, based on the characteristics and level of SCD and how to achieve them.
The Fellow will be given the opportunity to become proficient in:
- Coordination in the post initial care setting of the impact and timing of treatment of each organ system’s dysfunction so that an optimum treatment effect can be obtained,
- Planning of the most efficient and effective treatment approaches for acquisition of skills and knowledge by the patient in order to acquire the highest level of functioning, and
- Promotion of patient education about all aspects of SCD in order to promote patient independence and patient recognition of illness.
Important Information
- Spinal Cord Injury Medicine fellowship is one year in length
- Certification in SCI medicine is offered to diplomats of all ABMS member boards, particularly from specialties directly related to the care of persons with spinal cord injury whose diplomats wish to be certified in SCI medicine (e.g. anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, neurological surgery, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, plastic surgery, and urology).
Please note the following:
Visit the Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Match website.
Additional accreditation information can be found on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education website.
A 2-year non-accredited Research Fellowship is also available.
