Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians: Career Profile
Diagnose and treat disorders requiring physiotherapy to provide physical, mental, and occupational rehabilitation.
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What Tasks Do Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians Take On?
The day-to-day responsibilities of physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians include:
- Document examination results, treatment plans, and patients' outcomes.
- Examine patients to assess mobility, strength, communication, or cognition.
- Assess characteristics of patients' pain, such as intensity, location, or duration, using standardized clinical measures.
- Provide inpatient or outpatient medical management of neuromuscular disorders, musculoskeletal trauma, acute and chronic pain, deformity or amputation, cardiac or pulmonary disease, or other disabling conditions.
- Monitor effectiveness of pain management interventions, such as medication or spinal injections.
- Develop comprehensive plans for immediate and long-term rehabilitation, including therapeutic exercise, speech and occupational therapy, counseling, cognitive retraining, patient, family or caregiver education, or community reintegration.
- Coordinate physical medicine and rehabilitation services with other medical activities.
- Perform electrodiagnosis, including electromyography, nerve conduction studies, or somatosensory evoked potentials of neuromuscular disorders or damage.
What Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians Need to Know
Effective physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
These are the skills most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Knowledge Areas
Other Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- DO Physician (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Physician)
- Hospitalist Physician
- Interventional Pain Physician
- Interventional Physiatrist
- MD (Medical Doctor)
- Medical Director Acute Rehabilitation Unit Physiatrist
- Medicine Physician
- Pain Management Physician
How Many Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians Are There?
There are about 2,053,749 physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +14.6% over the projection horizon.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $117,397 |
| Hourly median | $56.44 |
| 10th percentile | $67,984 |
| 25th percentile | $92,691 |
| 75th percentile | $142,104 |
| 90th percentile | $166,810 |
Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| New Jersey | $238,870 |
| New York | $237,710 |
| North Carolina | $236,970 |
| Utah | $232,740 |
| Delaware | $232,180 |
| Ohio | $231,300 |
| Rhode Island | $229,340 |
| West Virginia | $228,680 |
| Connecticut | $227,720 |
| Arizona | $223,680 |
| Illinois | $218,880 |
| Massachusetts | $216,170 |
| Puerto Rico | $211,700 |
| Maryland | $209,370 |
| California | $201,510 |
| Michigan | $197,950 |
| Pennsylvania | $163,100 |
| Kansas | $140,330 |
| District of Columbia | $74,650 |
Where Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians Earn the Most
Compensation for physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians vary by region. Top regions by median wage:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other U.S. Territories | $211,700 | 0.3% | 0.45 |
| Middle Atlantic | $199,012 | 16.6% | 1.24 |
| Great Lakes | $183,977 | 20.6% | 1.57 |
| New England | $181,974 | 5.4% | 1.14 |
| Far Western US | $115,922 | 11.4% | 0.73 |
| Rocky Mountains | $108,612 | 2.4% | 0.71 |
| Southeast | $50,284 | 24.9% | 1.08 |
| Plains States | $35,517 | 5.4% | 0.91 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington, NC | NC | $238,520 | 70 |
| Rochester, NY | NY | $237,660 | 420 |
| Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | TN | $236,970 | 160 |
| Odessa, TX | TX | $234,850 | 40 |
| Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | WA | $234,800 | 40 |
| Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | MI | $234,380 | 310 |
| Parkersburg-Vienna, WV | WV | $233,240 | 60 |
| Sandusky, OH | OH | $233,170 | 130 |
Industry Breakdown
The largest employers of physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 258,240 | $235,660 |
| Educational Services | 10,850 | $72,170 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2,280 | $221,680 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 1,670 | n/a |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 1,330 | n/a |
| Finance and Insurance | 770 | $227,720 |
| Manufacturing | 220 | $88,370 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 200 | $136,060 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Tools and Technology
- Medical software: eClinicalWorks EHR software (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
Work Environment
The work environment for physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Freedom to Make Decisions
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
Getting Started in This Career
The role falls in Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Chiropractors (Supplemental)
- Physician Assistants (Supplemental)
- Occupational Therapists (Primary-Long)
- Physical Therapists (Primary-Long)
- Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses (Supplemental)
- Nurse Practitioners (Primary-Long)
- Anesthesiologists (Supplemental)
- Cardiologists (Primary-Short)
Where to Study
Aspiring physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians commonly pursue programs in:
60 programs across 15 majors
- Combined Medical Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Multiple-Pathway Medical Fellowship Programs
- Allergy and Immunology Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Internal Medicine Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Medical Genetics and Genomics Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Orthopedic Surgery Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Osteopathic Medicine Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Otolaryngology Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Pathology Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Pediatrics Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Preventive Medicine Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Radiation Oncology Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Medical Residency/Fellowship Programs, Other
Health Professions and Related Programs
3 programs across 2 majors
Sources
Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 29-1229.04 (Physicians, All Other).
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