Career Overview
Diagnose and treat disorders requiring physiotherapy to provide physical, mental, and occupational rehabilitation.
Also Known As
- MD (Medical Doctor)
- Pain Management Physician
- Physiatrist
- Physician
Alternate Job Titles
- 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
- Pain Medicine Physician
- Pediatric Physiatrist
- Physiatrist
- Physiatrist Consultant
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician (PM and R Physician)
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist (PM and R Specialist)
- Physical Medicine Physician
What You'll Do
In this role, your typical responsibilities 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.
Knowledge You'll Use
You'll need solid knowledge in these areas:
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Psychology
- Biology
- Therapy and Counseling
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
Essential Skills
Success in this career requires strong skills in:
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Coordination
- Complex Problem Solving
Key Abilities
This career requires key abilities in:
- Oral Expression
- Problem Sensitivity
- Deductive Reasoning
- Inductive Reasoning
- Oral Comprehension
- Written Comprehension
- Written Expression
- Information Ordering
- Speech Recognition
- Near Vision
Work Style
People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Cautiousness
- Empathy
- Cooperation
What Matters in This Career
This career tends to satisfy these work values:
- Achievement
- Recognition
- Independence
- Working Conditions
- Relationships
Education & Preparation
Typical Education: Doctoral Degree
Related Work Experience Needed: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month
Education Details: Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Experience Required: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Technology You'll Use
Popular Technologies & Software
- eClinicalWorks EHR software
- Microsoft Word
Tools & Equipment
- Agility ladders
- Automated external defibrillators AED
- Balance trainers
- Chair cycles
- Cold therapy equipment
- Custom orthotics
- Desktop computers
- Electromyographs EMG
- Ellipticals
- Epidural injection syringes
- Exercise balls
- Exercise bands
- Finger ladders
- Fluoroscopes
- Folding pedal exercisers
Work Environment
- 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
Salary & Job Market
Wages reported for the broader Physicians, All Other occupational group (BLS 2024), which includes Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians.
| Salary Percentile | Annual Wage |
|---|---|
| Entry-Level (10th percentile) | $66,860 |
| Median | >$239,200 |
| Top Earners (90th percentile) | >$239,200 |
Workers Employed Nationally: 315,360
Related Careers
If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:
Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric
Education: Not specified
Median Salary: >$239,200
Pediatric Surgeons
Education: Not specified
Median Salary: >$239,200
Cardiologists
Education: Not specified
Median Salary: >$239,200
Emergency Medicine Physicians
Education: Post-Doctoral Training
Median Salary: >$239,200
General Internal Medicine Physicians
Education: Post-Doctoral Training
Median Salary: $236,350
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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.