Didactics

The goal of formal didactics is to provide in-depth resident education in clinically and board-relevant material. Our module system was designed to encompass the topics that are tested on the national board certification examinations per American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPM&R) once every 18 months.

The topics are separated into core topics, high yield fundamental topics, and specialty topics that are still beneficial.  Core topics are allocated more lecture time as they appear more frequently on the written boards.

CORE TOPICS:

  • Physical Medicine
  • Neurology
  • Internal Medicine
  • Anatomy/MSK
  • Rheumatology

SPECIALTY TOPICS:

  • Electrodiagnostic Medicine
  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • TBI/Neurorehabilitation
  • Pediatrics
  • Pain Medicine
  • Orthotics/Prosthetics

Monthly lecture time is also allocated during didactics for reviewing content including written and oral board exams, oral board examination preparation, Journal Club, M&M, research quality improvement presentations, ultrasound procedure workshops, kinesiotaping workshops, Botox workshops, special speakers, etc.

Lecture Schedule and Speakers

It is the belief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Residency Program that an important component of the resident’s education is gained by way of self-directed learning. Therefore, residents are requested to deliver a number of lectures within each module after being provided with lecture goals and objectives and guidance for material research. 

Faculty and extra-departmental experts participate as well. Didactics are scheduled every Thursday 8:00 a.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. and are overseen by faculty members. Each module has associated self-assessment written board review questions to assess residents ongoing learning and preparation.  In addition, several rotation-specific didactics are held at the discretion of the rotation’s Attending. 

Anatomy Laboratory

In person prosected and plastinated anatomy specimens with corresponding lectures are incorporated into each section of didactics.  This allows residents a unique view of pertinent musculoskeletal and neuroanatomy.  Important clinical correlation points are emphasized during anatomy lectures.

Journal Club

Lecture time each month is dedicated to reviewing journal articles with a faculty mentor. The journal topic is congruent with the current lecture module topics.

This is in addition to articles that are reviewed during the module lecture presentations, as multiple lectures in any given module are the requirements to review current literature on a given topic and present this information within the body of the lecture.

Articles are presented and then critiqued with respect to content, methodology, results, and whether the hypothesis was proved.

Research Conference and Quality Improvement

All Rehabilitation Medicine residents are mandated to complete at least one academic research project during their residency tenure. In their fourth year, residents are required to deliver a conference educating the residency program about their project.  Each resident is also responsible for being involved in a quality improvement project as well.

Professional Development Lecture Module

This module is designed to introduce residents to a number of important topics relevant to their professional lives beyond residency, including: CV building, fellowships, interviewing, negotiating, contract reading/signing, private practice vs non-profit vs academia, financial planning, and work/life balance. It is divided into spring and fall sessions.

Research Lecture Series

One lecture hour per month has been dedicated to furthering resident knowledge and involvement in research. Presentation topics include resident research, navigating literature searches, and strategies for reading and analyzing articles.

Oral and Written Board Preparation

One-to-two lecture hours during each didactic module are dedicated towards faculty-led written and oral board review. To prepare residents for oral boards, faculty members lead each of the senior residents through a mock oral board presentation in front of their colleagues.