Rehabilitation Medicine Specialty Profile

Rehabilitation Medicine

Dr. Peter Harradine, Rehabilitation Physician

Rehabilitation Physicians assess, direct and maintain the management of patients with ongoing needs to enable them to achieve their maximum function and quality of life. Rehabilitation medicine encompasses the complex problems of people of all ages with loss of function arising from injury or disease. It focuses on the structural and functional characteristics of people in relation to mobility, self-care and all other human activities, as well as the psychological responses and social consequences associated with loss of function and disability. An essential component of rehabilitation medicine is the ability to approach the patient as a whole and prioritise their treatment for successful outcomes. It aims to minimise disability, improve quality of life and prevent or delay reliance on institutional care. Rehabilitation medicine is team-based and interdisciplinary, and requires those choosing it to have a broad medical knowledge, experience in all medical specialties, excellent communication skills and the ability to motivate patients even when they are frustrated with their slow or minimal progress.

There are also research opportunities in rehabilitation medicine, including those available at the Rehabilitation Studies Unit at the Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney see http://www.royalrehab.com.au/teaching.html#rnrdu

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Rehabilitation Medicine Training Program

Application process

Prospective trainees may apply for training in rehabilitation medicine after 2 years of post-graduate general medical and surgical experience. Successful applicants needs to obtain a suitable training position before applying for training; this can be done through direct application to... more

Length of training

The general rehabilitation medicine training program is a minimum of 4 years; and the conjoint and paediatric rehabilitation training programs are 3 years (after the completion of RACP basic training).... more

Cost of training

Application fee to become an AFRM trainee: $300 Annual application fee (over 0.5FTE): $760 Annual application fee (P/T up to 0.5FTE): $460 Annual training deferment fee: $300 Application fee for retrospective accreditation of 12 months rehabilitation medicine training: $760 Annual... more

Flexibility in training

Training is normally continuous. Part time training and job sharing, usually to a minimum of 50% of a full time workload, is feasible and must be approved prospectively. In the case of interrupted or deferred training, the education committee must... more

Availability/Competition for training positions

Rehabilitation medicine is growing in popularity among trainees, with the number of trainees doubling in the past ten years. Approximately 110 trainees registered for training in the 2008 rehabilitation medicine training programs.... more

References

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty by Brian Freeman Careers in Medicine : The Avant Handbook by Hewson, A. D., Hunter Postgraduate Medical Institute., et al Requirements for Physician Training Australia 2008 Handbook, Adult Internal Medicine and Paediatrics... more

Rehabilitation Medicine Case Study

Dr. Priya Chari

Dr. Priya Chari

Name: Dr. Priya Chari

Career stage: Registrar

Location: Sydney, Australia

Medical Specialty: Rehabilitation Medicine

What attracted you to rehabilitation medicine?

Holistic nature and concept of maximising function in disability....

What do you enjoy the most about this training program?

Broad case-mix and well structured training program....

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Rehabilitation Medicine Workplace

The workplace

Rehabilitation Physicians spend most of their working hours on direct patient care. They accept ultimate responsibility for the rehabilitative care of their patients, however recognise and respect the necessity of interdisciplinary team care, especially when managing patients with permanent and... more

The doctor-patient relationship

Rehabilitation medicine involves a high level of patient contact. Many Rehabilitation Physicians find it is especially rewarding to build long-term, meaningful relationships with patients and their families, who are important in supporting the patient throughout the rehabilitation period and beyond.... more

Intellectual content

Rehabilitation medicine is not well understood as a specialty by the public or the medical community and is often thought of as being primarily based on geriatric medicine. In fact, the specialty and training cover a wide spectrum of rehabilitation... more

Lifestyle and Practice Options

There are opportunities for public and private practice, however the majority of Rehabilitation Physicians work in public hospitals. The possibility of part time work, flexible working hours and light on call commitments make rehabilitation medicine a good option for those... more

Medical indemnity

Medico-legal issues, as with all aspects with medical practice, are becoming increasingly significant. Use our medical indemnity risk category tool to assess this specialty.... more

Training Program

The Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFRM) is a Faculty of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) and the AFRM administers the training of Rehabilitation Physicians, in both adult and paediatric fields. The general rehabilitation medicine training program is... more

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