Chief residency in PM and R: A balance of education and administration

The role of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM and R) chief resident (CR) in physiatry residency education programs is the subject of annual deliberation in many academic centers. A national survey of PM and R programs was conducted to determine CR number, selection method, responsibilities, duration of service, and postresidency destiny. The questionnaire generated a response rate of 86% with 90% of programs reporting 1-3 CRs per year. A range of 1-11 CRs were selected annually per program. The most common methods of CR selection were faculty vote (45%), combined resident-faculty vote (22%), and other (33%). The prevalence of administrative responsibilities included orienting new residents (97%), formulating call schedules (92%), dispute mediation (88%), medical student- residency interviews (87%), rotation schedule configuration (64%), faculty meeting participation (61%), social event promotion (59%), and elective and externship schedule development (31%). Educational duties included teaching and organizing didactics (87%), organizing pharmaceutical and rehabilitation equipment inservices (77%), arranging didactics (77%), board review coordination (72%), arranging grand round speakers (66%), core curriculum lectures (61%), and facilitating resident research (37%). CR career goals included group practice (48%), academic faculty (29%), solo practice (5%), and fellowship (18%). Overall, PM and R CRs maintain considerable involvement in the educational aspects of residency training, although their clinical and administrative duties predominate. Although the PM and R CRs contribute significantly to the academic growth and development of their respective training programs, only a modest percentage (47%) of CRs choose to remain in academic physiatry via an attending (29%) or fellowship (18%) position.