Update from the AAP RFC Chair — Summer 2018
Summer is always a time of transition as a trainee in medicine. Every July we say emotional goodbyes to graduates and warmly welcome new classes. We are given more advanced roles and additional responsibilities. We begin preparation for the next phase or our careers. During this busy time, I encourage everyone to take a few moments to reflect on your growth over the past year. It can be hard to see between 24 hour calls and the seemingly infinite amounts of information we are expected to absorb, but each year we become more knowledgeable and capable, a step closer towards becoming the physiatrists of tomorrow.
The Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) Resident/Fellow Council (RFC) focuses on providing support to physiatrists-in-training through the AAP’s broader mission of “creating the future of academic physiatry through mentorship, leadership, and discovery” and I am proud to say that the RFC has made significant contributions to each aspect of this mission over the past year.
Mentorship — Working with the AAP Medical Student Council, the medical student mentorship program continues to grow. Through this program, medical students interested in physiatry are paired with current residents to ask questions about what life is like as a physiatry resident and get advice on how to best prepare for applying to a PM&R residency. This is particularly valuable to those students whose home institutions do not have a PM&R department. For any medical students interested in being paired with a resident mentor, or residents interested in becoming a mentor, please contact the RFC Medical Student Affairs Representative, Wyatt Kupperman, at wyatt.kupperman@sinai.org.
Leadership — The RFC is dedicated to providing a voice for trainees in physiatry, ensuring we are prepared to become the future leaders in the field. We have been working closely with the AAP Program Committee to ensure a valuable learning and training experience for PM&R trainees at Physiatry ’19, to be held February 19–23, 2019 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Trainee-focused workshops will include opportunities for hands-on workshops covering common procedures, wheelchair prescription writing, and challenging cases in ASIA classification. We also encourage all trainees to attend the highly popular fellowship roundtable and career pearls sessions where residents and fellows can get advice from experienced faculty on the next steps of their career. There will also be expanded sessions for medical students to learn how to succeed on a PM&R elective and match at their program of choice. Last but not least, there will be a RFC social event where trainees can network and relax with their peers! Further details will be provided closer to the meeting. We highly encourage all trainees to submit their research and case abstracts for Physiatry ’19 before the September 7th deadline! Information on abstract submission can be found here!
Discovery — Over the past six months, the RFC has been collaborating with AJPM&R Editor-in-Chief, Walter Frontera, MD, PhD and Associate Editor, Dinesh Kumbhare, MD, PhD to create a new section of the AJPM&R with publications authored by trainees, focusing on topics relevant to physiatry research and training. Through a national application process, Drs. Frontera and Kumbhare selected five current PM&R residents and fellows to serve as the inaugural Residents and Fellows Section (RFS) Editors. The editors are currently finalizing the author submission guidelines, and will begin soliciting article submissions soon. We hope that this will encourage medical students, residents, and fellows to learn more about research and peer-reviewed journal publication. Keep an eye out for the call for papers in the near future!
The RFC is dedicated to representing all residents and fellows. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments about what we can do to help you grow into the future leaders in physiatry by emailing us at residentfellowcouncil@gmail.com or posting on the new RFC forum.
You can also find out more information about the RFC on the AAP website and on social media!
Website: http://www.physiatry.org/page/AbouttheRFC
Facebook: AAP Residents/Fellows/Students
Instagram: @aaphysiatrists
Twitter: @AAPhysiatry_RFC
