MedStar Health Georgetown University Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a large categorical PGY1-4 academic PM&R program anchored at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, described as the primary rehabilitation referral center for the Washington, DC metro area, giving residents exposure to both routine and rare pathology across spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, and complex musculoskeletal/neurologic disease. The curriculum is structured with early specialty-specific inpatient exposure in PGY-2, a longitudinal musculoskeletal ultrasound track, and dedicated EMG training at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, alongside outpatient rotations at Children's National, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, and the DC VA. Research is embedded through a required scholarly project and an optional 3-5 month research track conducted at the NIH, reflecting the Georgetown University academic affiliation and MedStar Health Research Institute infrastructure. Graduate outcomes skew heavily toward subspecialty fellowship (sports medicine, pain medicine, brain injury, cancer rehabilitation, pediatric rehab), indicating a program oriented toward producing fellowship-bound subspecialists rather than general community physiatrists, while still valuing broad early clinical exposure for informed career planning.