Letter from the Chair

From the Director

 Robert Weber, MD

Thank you for your interest in the Upstate Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency program. I look forward to meeting you and showing you all that Central New York has to offer. While Syracuse is famous for sports and a four seasons climate, it also boasts all of the cultural and entertainment activities that are expected of a progressive city with major Universities. Our airline connections remain excellent, and there is easy driving access to New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Montreal. The Central New York and Finger Lakes regions offer outdoor activities for all seasons. Low cost of living makes it easy to find affordable housing. Some of our residents with families are even able to buy homes in the nearby suburbs during their time with us here.

Upstate’s PM&R program has been growing for 30 years and we continue to add new site locations to support our growing outpatient practice and clinical experience for out residents. Our most recent addition is an SCIM fellowship with 2 positions per year. Our faculty cover all major subspecialty and practice areas including Brain injury Medicine, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine, Pain Medicine, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Musculoskeletal Medicine, and Prosthetics & Orthotics. Upstate University Hospital is the only Level 1 Trauma Center in CNY (designated for adult trauma, and the only pediatric trauma and burn designations) and is the first Level 1 Comprehensive Stroke Center, serving an approximate 2 million population area. This supports a referral pattern that results in the comprehensive PM&R experiences for our Residency Program.

The Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program at Upstate Medical University is a 3-year advanced program (PGY2-PGY4) of progressive education and responsibility. We also offer a 4-year program through the Match that includes a PGY1 preliminary medicine year with our Upstate Internal Medicine Residency Program. Six preliminary medicine positions are available for individuals matching with our Advanced Match positions. We encourage resident candidates to match with Upstate for the PGY1 experience to allow a smooth transition to the advanced program.

Our program possesses all the resources needed for an excellent learning environment: a University Hospital with Level 1 services serving a large population, a Children’s Hospital, the adjacent VAMC, and an SNF rehabilitation program (with a dedicated brain injury rehabilitation unit). An indication of our commitment to educational excellence is our long-standing policy of operating some services uncovered by residents, in order to ensure that assignments provide definable educational value. This creates an environment in which the resident has both appropriate clinical experiences and the time necessary for academic study, reflection, and hands-on experience with allied health staff. Our expectation is that at completion of the residency, graduates will be capable and competent to enter clinical practice and/or be highly competitive for their chosen fellowship.

Please review the remainder of the PMR Residency webpages for more details about the educational program and the ease of living in upstate New York.

Good luck and I hope you meet you here at our facility or at a future AAPM&R conference!

Dr. Robert Weber