Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship

Research

The Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship Program offers fellows multiple opportunities for research. Children’s National and its academic affiliate, George Washington University, sponsor courses in biostatistics, epidemiology and clinical research methods. Collaboration is available through Children’s Research Institute, Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital Neuroscience Research Center, and the National Institutes of Health. Each fellow is expected to complete at least one research project during the fellowship.

Education

Clinical Education

Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation

Our 12-bed acute inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit was opened in 2003 at the MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and is a joint venture between MedStar NRH and Children’s National. MedStar NRH is a free-standing 118-bed hospital. There are approximately 100 admissions to the pediatric unit per year. The most common conditions include: traumatic and non-traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, tumors, neuromuscular disorders, and musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.

Inpatient Consultation

Founded in 1870, Children’s National is one of the nation’s oldest independent children’s hospitals. Children’s National is a free-standing 313-bed tertiary pediatric hospital.  Children’s National has over 10,000 inpatient admissions per year. The Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine fellows participate in inpatient consultations at Children’s National (over 400 per year) for patients admitted to NICU, PICU, CICU, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, oncology, general pediatric, and trauma services.

Outpatient Experience

There are over 400,000 outpatient visits per year at Children’s National. As a part of the outpatient rotation, the PRM fellows attend general PRM clinics for children with a variety of functional deficits, including those secondary to: brain injury, cerebral palsy, hypotonia, developmental delay, limb deficiency/amputation, musculoskeletal disorders, rheumatologic and connective tissue disorders, genetic disorders, and oncologic diagnoses. The PRM fellows also see patients in multidisciplinary clinics/ programs such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association sponsored clinic, Spina Bifida/ Spinal Cord Injury, Spasticity/Motor Dysfunction, Perinatal Brain Injury, Skeletal Dysplasia, Brachial Plexus Injury, Torticollis, Neuro-oncology, Myelin Disorder, PICU Follow up, Orthopedic Surgery & PRM, Concussion, Pain Management, Therapeutic Equipment and Brace clinics, and Assistive Technology.

Procedural Training 

Fellows are trained in the procedures related to the field of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, including chemodenervation with Botox and intramuscular neurolysis with phenol, electrodiagnostic studies, and intrathecal baclofen pump management.

Rotation Schedule Template

Didactic Education

• Division of PRM weekly didactic series cover the critical elements of the American Board of PMR curriculum for Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine and include lectures/seminars, case presentations with analysis, and journal clubs.
• The PRM fellows complete training in the core curriculum for fellows at Children’s National. 
• Children’s National Grand Rounds, Children’s National neuroscience series, and pediatric neuroradiology rounds. 
• Ethics rounds facilitated by members of the Children’s National Ethics Committee.
• Participation in the national conferences (one per year) pertaining to Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine.
• The fellows have an integral role as part of the training program for PM&R residents from MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
• The PRM fellows participate in the training of other rotating residents and medical students through daily supervision in the clinical settings and through formal lectures and other didactics.

How to Apply

Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship program participates in ERAS and NRMP. Requirements for Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine fellowship candidacy include:

• Successful completion of an ACGME accredited residency program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, or
• Successful completion of an ACGME accredited combined residency program in PM&R/Pediatrics, or
• Successful completion of ACGME accredited residencies in PM&R and Pediatrics, and
• American Board of PM&R certification or eligibility, and
• Eligibility for medical licensure in District of Columbia

Interviews of the applicants for the 2018 academic year will be conducted on October 2, 2017. Interested candidates should complete the application process through ERAS two weeks prior to be considered for the interview.

Faculty and Staff

Faculty for the Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship Program include each faculty member in the division of PRM at Children’s National as well as faculty members from MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, faculty members in pediatric subspecialty divisions at Children’s National, psychologists, neuropsychologists, physical and occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, a social worker, nurses and orthotists.

Sarah H Evans, MD - Division Chief
Olga M Morozova, MD - Director of Education and Fellowship
Justin M. Burton, MD
Jeffrey P Rabin, DO
Melissa Fleming, MD
Thomas Chang, MD

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How often will I work with a pediatric physiatrist?

All patients in outpatient and inpatient settings who are being evaluated or treated for functional deficits are seen and discussed with a faculty member of the Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine as the attending of record for the patient.

Q: Is there a hospitalist attending who co-treats patients during their acute inpatient rehabilitation?

No. The pediatric physiatrist serves as the primary physician for patients during their acute inpatient rehabilitation stay. However, we work closely with the patients’ specialists at Children's National and can quickly get them to outpatient and/or emergency room visits when needed.

Q: What are the call responsibilities?  How often are fellows on call?

Call is taken from home with the exception of weekend and holiday in-house rounding on inpatients. Call is taken in one week long blocks, with average frequency being one week out of every 4. The fellows have attending physician back-up/supervision when they take call.

Q: What educational resources are provided for the fellows?

Educational resources are provided by Children’s National Health System and MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital (MedStar NRH). These include conference rooms, audio-visual materials, internet access, library access, and a full range of conferences from related disciplines that also have postgraduate training programs. Relevant members of the staff of both Children’s National and MedStar NRH will provide education and clinical oversight to trainees in the PRM program. Online research training is required of all trainees.