An Introduction to “Ability Science” for Physiatry in Motion
By Jim Eubanks and Mike Farrell
1. Who is behind Ability Science?
Jim Eubanks, DC, MS is a third year MD student and Clinical Research Scholar in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. He earned his Doctorate of Chiropractic (DC) and a Master of Science (MS) in Sports Science and Rehabilitation from Logan University in St. Louis, MO in 2009.
Mike Farrell, DC is a fourth year MD student at Ross University School of Medicine and is completing his clinical clerkships at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, NY. He is entering the 2017 NRMP Match in hopes of obtaining a residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He earned his Doctorate of Chiropractic (DC) from D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY in 2010.
2. What is Ability Science?
MIKE: Ability Science is a social media platform. Our specific goals include raising awareness about the field of physiatry among students, healthcare professionals, and patients.
JIM: Additionally, we aim to increase understanding of physiatry and rehabilitation medicine as a whole. Most of medicine has focused on quantity of life, and done a remarkable job towards this end. Physiatry adds to the health system with a focus on quality of life and function.
3. What inspired you to start Ability Science?
JIM: From 2011 until his untimely passing in 2013, I studied under the direction of the late Craig Brigham MD at OrthoCarolina Spine in Charlotte, NC. Dr. Brigham was the spine chief for the Carolinas Medical Center’s orthopedic residency and a founding partner of OrthoCarolina. He was a committed advocate for disciplined, sensible spine and musculoskeletal care, and focused on evidence-based practice. He would ask two key questions to every patient: 1) “When was the last time you felt your best?” and 2) “What are YOUR goals for your care?” It was this spirit of evidence-based care coupled with a desire to empower patients that led him to envision a spine and musculoskeletal medicine educational organization that would address these goals with medical students and physicians. Mike and I exchanged ideas about this concept over the years, and it eventually led to the creation of Ability Science in 2015.
MIKE: There is a huge need to increase awareness about PM&R. Physiatry is a relatively new specialty within medicine and has really only been around since the 1940s, and got its start primarily for veterans returning from WWII. But it has had to evolve to meet the physical medicine needs of the public. An example of this is the Polio epidemic in the ‘50s. Today, it continues to evolve, and as medical therapies improve, people are living longer following a trauma or with historically lethal diseases such as cancer. There is a much needed focus today on maintaining function as these patients age.
4. How has your medical institution supported your interest in PM&R?
JIM: Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University is one of the 30% or so of US medical schools that have a PM&R clerkship, including early exposure in the curriculum to PM&R through lectures given by PM&R physicians on topics of spine anatomy and spine conditions, chronic musculoskeletal pain, and behavioral medicine topics on disability and rehabilitation. Importantly, Brody also has a required PM&R clerkship that covers core topics like musculoskeletal medicine, neurology, and pain management. Currently, I am working with our PM&R department and Brody administrators to expand the amount of spine and musculoskeletal education offered in our core clerkships. While this is not yet the typical experience of medical students, it is a powerful model of what can be done.
MIKE: Mine is a more common experience; really I had no exposure to what a physiatrist’s role is and what they do on a daily basis; no required rotations and I was forced to seek them out on my own. Jim and I both had a unique perspective entering medical school of wanting to do physiatry, and I recognized that most of the students around me had no idea what it was. When comparing our two experiences, we have realized that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in the future to increase awareness of the field.
5. Who is the prime target audience?
JIM: Our target audience is primarily medical students and physicians, and we have a general goal of educating all health professionals about the work that physiatrists do and the essential role they now play in the health system.
6. Your team has created a few vlogs to discuss things like clinical pearls and case diagnoses What exactly are vlogs and how does one start a vlog? What are some ways you envision that vlogs may help improve learning experience during medical training?
MIKE: For years, people have been publishing their thoughts on the internet with blogs. The word “blog” itself came from the term “web-log” and the w-e was eventually dropped. Video-Logs or VLOGs are just a more visually appealing incarnation of blogs. The format is appealing because there are tons of influential people on Youtube who have used the VLOGing format to captivate a younger generation. My inspiration was a YouTuber by the name of Casey Neistat who famously snow boarded through NYC during the blizzard last year. I feel that the upbeat music, interesting visuals, and fast paced tempo grabs attention much better than just printed words on a screen. As online learning sites such as Khan Academy and Osmosis become more popular students are relying to the internet for new ways to consume information. I think that our goal is to captivate our audience with the Vlogging format while dispensing some information at the same time so that the learning is subconscious and not forced. The good news is that anyone can start a vlog with a camera and free software like iMovie. I had no experience with shooting or editing videos before starting the VLOGs and have really enjoyed learning as I go.
7. PMR is said to be medicine’s best kept secret. What excites you about the specialty as medical students and how can we get more trainees excited about the field?
JIM: For me, the expanding awareness within 21st century medicine of the importance quality of life plays jives with my own experience with chronic illness. My personal health journey informed me about the kinds of values patients have, and often chief among these is living well. Rehab medicine gets this, and is uniquely equipped to empower patients as they cope with changes in their lives and overcome challenging conditions. Mike and I know that getting this message out to medical students and other health professionals will illuminate the logic of rehab medicine and inspire a new level of interest as the field expands.
MIKE: When I think about my own state of health, what matters most is my ability to wake up each morning and live my life without limitations. If tomorrow I couldn’t ride a bike, or drive a car, I would feel that impact more than my LDLs increasing or my HbA1c dropping. That interface where your state of health meets your ability to truly live life is what physiatry is all about to me. For patients to buy into their healthcare they need physicians who are passionate and I entered medical school passionate about the areas physiatry addresses. Trainees will get excited about the field by increasing awareness! It’s an extremely rewarding area of medicine (with broad applicability across a range of fields) and as more students get exposure they will realize that.
Learn more about Ability Science at www.abilityscience.org, and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Also check out our “Leaders in PM&R” Interview Series.
