Residency Applicants

Welcome future Physiatrists. We are thrilled that you are interested in our Residency Program. Our review and interview process is focused on completing a Holistic Review to find the match for our program from a personality, academic, and clinical perspective. Our program is structured to give Residents the Autonomy to chose their own path with their future by allowing flexible rotation schedules, maximized elective time, and opportunities to earn secondary degrees & certification.

To learn more about our program:

Frequently Asked Questions
Audition (Away) Elective
Medical Student Fellowship Program
Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

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- Applications are accepted ONLY through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)
- Permanent U.S. Citizenship or J-1 Visa eligible
- Graduate of medical school in the last three years
- Yes. We have found outstanding Residents from Programs all over the world!
- Yes
- Like most programs, we use a Holistic approach to review applications. We weigh your pre-clinical/clinical performance, extra-curricular experiences, personal statement, and letters of recommendation equally
- STEP II / COMLEX II score could be beneficial if you are wanting to demonstrate the improvements you have made academically, particularly if you struggled during your pre-clinical and clinical years
- Regardless, we are wanting to match well-rounded future Physiatrist as we can all agree there is more to a great clinician than just a test score!
- See above regarding our holistic review process
- If you did experience adversity during your medical school career that impacted your test performance, we would recommend that you explain your story in the “Impactful Experience” section of the ERAS application so we can better understand your situation (click here for the link to sample ERAS application, page 16)
- Learning medical knowledge is a journey and we understand that not all learners go at the same pace as others. What we are looking for is what you learned about yourself as a result of this adversity, what you have done to make changes, and (hopefully) any evidence of success with the changes you have made
- At least 2 PM&R letters and at least 3 total letters
- All interviews will be conducted virtually You will have 4-5, 12 to 15 minute, 1:1 interviews with our Faculty
- You will be interviewed by either Dr. Ravi Kasi (Program Director) or Dr. Andrew Patton (Associate Program Director) but not both
- We also have a “Group Interviews” with our Residents. At the end of the Interview day, you will rotate between 3 virtual rooms every 15 minutes. Each Room will have a different theme: “DEI and Community Outreach,” “Wellness,” and “Education.” At the beginning of each session within a room, the resident will give a brief overview of what the program does in specific theme (i.e. DEI). This is followed by general discussion regarding the theme between the students and residents. While this is not an official interview, we do use the residents feedback on how much they connected with the candidates
- We plan to create 1-2 designated days after interviews are completed for interested students to come for a “Second Look”.
- During the “Second Look”, candidates will get an opportunity to take a tour of the facilities, meet faculty (briefly), and have lunch with residents who are at the main campus Per ERAS rules/recommendations, the "Second Look" will occur after our Rank List is submitted

Audition (Away) Elective

If you are interested in our Residency Program, we would encourage you to apply for an Audition (Away) Elective at our Institution. We are able to take students during the months of July to December for 4 week electives. To optimize your changes of securing a spot, please apply as soon as VSLO opens

How to Apply:

4 week experiences between the months of July to December
- Start and End dates of the rotation are created by Rush Medical College and cannot be altered
Applications are accepted through Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) only
For any issues or further clarification, please email gabriella_j_chavez@rush.edu

Rotation Details:

Rotation will be between Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation, Consult Service, and/or Outpatient Clinics
Students will have exposure to both Faculty and Residents throughout the experience
Faculty will encourage students to take the initiative to be autonomous. Students that shine are those who take the initiative spend extra time with their patients before & after rounds, create plans prior to start of rounds, work with the residents to place orders, present their patients to the team during interdisciplinary staffing, write notes, etc.
Students are strongly recommended to give a short 15 minute presentation on a topic of their choice on the last weeks of the rotation

Chicago Medical Student Fellowship

The Chicago PM&R Medical Student Fellowship is a program helping students match into PM&R. The program is comprised of

Monthly Lectures on Core PM&R Topics (i.e. how to do PM&R consults, TBI neurostimulant, right shoulder pain)
Monthly discussions on the application process (i.e. how to approach VLSO)
Mock Interviews and Personal Statement Review
Mentorship Connections with Residents & Attendings
Coordination of extracurricular activities
- Case Reports, Research
- Disability Advocacy Speaking Engagements
- Journal Club
- Sports Medicine Presentations
- Sports Medicine Coverage (pre-participation physicals, sideline coverage, Race Medicine Events)
- Adaptive Sports Opportunities

To join the Chicago Medical Student Fellowship (Email: pmrfellowship@gmail.com)

Medical Student Resources

AAP
AAPM&R
Road to Residency Webinar hosted by the AAP in 2023

Residency Applicants

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Common Requirements for all applicants?

Do you review applications from students at International Medical Schools?

Are you participating in Program Signaling and Geographical Preference?

How will you use STEP1/COMLEX1 and/or STEP II/COMLEX II in your application review and ranking proce

Do you review packets of those who failed STEP 1 / COMLEX 1?

How many PM&R Letters of Recommendation do you require?

What is your Method of Interview?

Do you offer Second Looks?

Audition (Away) Elective

Medical Student Resources