Skip to content

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency

Apply NowContact Us
The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a three-year, ACGME-accredited program that admits four residents per year.

Jump to topic

Search

Program Details

The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center offers many opportunities for growth and experience in the medical field.

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is the only medical facility in Pennsylvania to be accredited as both an adult and a pediatric Level 1 trauma center, with 551 licensed beds and 63 associated specialty practices located at 24 clinics in eight central Pennsylvania counties.

The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department was established in 2010 with the opening of the 54-bed Penn State Rehabilitation Hospital, a joint venture between Select Medical and Penn State Health Medical Group.

This venture between a premier academic medical center and a for-profit rehabilitation organization was so successful that the Rehab Hospital was expanded in 2014 to include an additional 44 beds (22 of them dedicated to Transitional Care), a Wound Care Center and an Outpatient Day Program. The Rehab Hospital is both Joint Commission and CARF-accredited.

For those interested in research, the 4,500-square-foot Penn State PM and R Research Laboratories include exercise, body composition, locomotor training and gait equipment at the Hershey Center for Applied Research, and complement the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute, one of 64 National Institutes of Health-funded infrastructures that promotes and supports clinical/translational research in both Hershey and State College, Pa.

Learn More about the Residency

To Apply Expand answer

General Application Information

All applications must be received through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Applications should be completed by Dec. 31.

The following items must be included in the ERAS application:

  • Curriculum vitae
  • Personal statement
  • Medical school transcripts
  • Medical student performance evaluation (MSPE)/dean’s letter
  • Letters of recommendation (at least three letters from faculty with at least one from a physiatrist)
  • U.S. Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) or Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) transcripts

U.S. clinical experience is preferred, but not required.

Potential candidates will be contacted via email to schedule interviews, which occur between October and January.

All candidates need to be registered with the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). The program does not offer any positions outside of the match.

International Medical Graduates

The program does accept applications from foreign medical graduates. The application process is similar to the above, and foreign medical graduates must apply via ERAS and be registered with the NRMP.

Applicants must be one of the following:

  • U.S. citizen
  • Permanent resident (green card holder)
  • J-1 visa holder, sponsored through the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)

No other visas are sponsored. All international medical graduates must be certified by the ECFMG prior to the match, but not prior to applying.

Application Requirements

To be considered competitive for this program, applicants must have:

  • Competitive scores on the USMLE. There is no specific cutoff for USMLE scores; however, generally applicants should have a score of 220 or above to be considered.
  • U.S. clinical experience in the past two years with a letter from a U.S. physiatrist.
  • Graduated from medical school in the past five years.
  • Successfully completed the Clinical Skills requirement on the USMLE.
  • ECFMG certification.
Faculty Expand answer
Current Residents Expand answer
Past Residents Expand answer

Past residents from the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency and the places where they went on to fellowship or employment are seen here.

About Penn State Health Expand answer

A screenshot shows the 2020 virtual tour of Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine.

Virtual Tour

A recently developed virtual tour showcases locations across Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa.

Explore the virtual tour


Penn State Health

Penn State Health is a multi-hospital health system serving patients and communities across 29 counties of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to improve health through patient care, research, education and community outreach.

In December 2017, the system partnered with Highmark Health to facilitate creation of a value-based, community care network in the region. The shared goal of Highmark and Penn State Health is to ensure patients in the community are within:

  • 10 minutes of a Penn State Health primary care provider
  • 20 minutes of Penn State Health specialty care
  • 30 minutes of a Penn State Health acute care facility

Learn more about Penn State Health

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine campus is seen in an aerial photo on a sunny day.

Penn State Health Children’s Hospital (left), Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (center) and Penn State Cancer Institute (right)

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

500 University Dr., Hershey, Pa., 17033 (Derry Township, Dauphin County)

  • The health system’s 647-bed flagship teaching and research hospital
  • The only medical facility in Pennsylvania accredited as both an adult and a pediatric Level I (highest-level) trauma center
  • Dedicated surgical, neuroscience, cardiovascular, trauma and medical intensive care units
  • Accredited Life Lion critical-care transport providing more than 1,100 helicopter and approximately 750 ground ambulance transports per year
  • More than 1,300 faculty members and more than 650 residents and fellows
  • Approximately 29,000 admissions, 73,000 emergency department visits, 1.1 million outpatient visits and 33,000 surgical procedures annually
  • Designated as a Magnet hospital since 2007

Learn more about Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Penn State Health Children’s Hospital

600 University Dr., Hershey, Pa. 17033 (Derry Township, Dauphin County)

  • An eight-story, 263,000-square-foot-facility built in 2013 and expanded in 2020
  • 146 licensed pediatric beds, 18 acute care beds and a 56-bed neonatal intensive care unit
  • Level IV (highest-level) neonatal intensive care unit
  • Level I quaternary (highest-level) pediatric intensive care unit
  • Level I (highest-level) pediatric trauma center designation
  • Intermediate care unit
  • Dedicated pediatric operating rooms
  • More than 150,000 pediatric outpatient visits and approximately 5,000 pediatric patient discharges annually

Learn more about Penn State Health Children’s Hospital

About Hershey: Benefits, Stipends and More Expand answer

An aerial image shows downtown Hershey with the words Welcome to Hershey superimposed at right.

Welcome to Hershey

A new guide to the Hershey, Pa., area showcases the highlights of life in central Pennsylvania.

Learn more about the Hershey area


More About Hershey

Interested in learning more about living and working in Hershey, Pa.? See details here:

Wellness Initiatives Expand answer

Wellness, including emotional, spiritual, social and physical health, is a crucial component to training and to becoming a professional, compassionate and resilient physician. Self-care is a skill which must be continually practiced and reinforced. Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health are committed to addressing wellness among residents and fellows, with multiple resources readily available.

Institutional resources

Graduate medical education resources

Diversity Expand answer

Institutional Resources

Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine celebrate, embrace and support the diversity of all patients, faculty, staff, students and trainees.

Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

In keeping with this, Penn State Health has an active Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with various programs, networks and resource groups, including:

  • Talks and lectures on diversity, equity and inclusion through the Inclusion Academy
  • Regular events on topics such as eradicating racism and creating a culture of inclusiveness
  • Many Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs), including:
    • Disability Business Employee Resource Group
    • Interfaith Business Employee Resource Group
    • LGBTQ+ Business Employee Resource Group
    • Military and Veterans Business Employee Resource Group
    • Multicultural Business Employee Resource Group
    • NextGen Business Employee Resource Group

Learn more about the Penn State Health Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Learn more about the College of Medicine’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Belonging

Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education

The vision at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health is to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they will need to provide culturally excellent health care and research for an increasingly diverse U.S. population. The Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education was formed to help meet that goal.

Learn more about the Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education

Office for a Respectful Learning Environment

In addition, the institution does not tolerate discrimination, biases, microaggression, harassment or learner mistreatment of any kind, and any concerns are immediately addressed by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment.

Learn more about the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment

Network of Under-represented Residents and Fellows
The Network of Under-represented Residents and Fellows (NURF) is a group of diverse residents and fellows representing all specialties. NURF’s goal is to promote cultural diversity in the residency programs through community involvement, mentorship with diverse faculty, professional networking and support for the recruitment of diverse medical students into the residency programs.

NURF is sponsored by the Penn State College of Medicine Graduate Medical Education Office and the Penn State Health Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Learn more information about NURF

Contact Us Expand answer

Mailing Address

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
500 University Dr., HP28
P.O. Box 850
Hershey, PA 17033

General Contact Information

Fax: 717-566-8202

Email: mosterlund@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

Curriculum Details

Curriculum Overview Expand answer

The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency is a three-year advanced program for post-graduate years two though four (PGY-2 to PGY-4). The applicant is expected to attend an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited preliminary year before starting the residency program. The program combines both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation medicine with exposure to a number of topics.

Lectures and Didactics Expand answer

Didactic schedule

  • Weekly Didactics (Fridays 8:45 to 11:45 a.m.)
  • Morbidity and Mortality Case Presentation (first Friday of each month, noon to 1 p.m.)
  • Grand Rounds (second Friday of each month, noon to 1 p.m.)
  • PM and R Research Lecture Series (third Friday of each month, 2 to 3 p.m.)
  • Journal Club (fourth Friday of each month, noon to 1 p.m.)

Didactic topics

  • Rehabilitation basics
  • Gross anatomy dissection
  • Electromyography (EMG)
  • Injections
  • Spinal cord injury (SCI)
  • Cerebrovascular accident (CVA)
  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
  • MSK/biomechanics
  • Prosthetics, orthotics and gait
  • Research
  • Quality improvement
  • Cardiac
  • Pulmonary rehabilitation
  • Burns
  • Wound care
  • Cancer
  • Rheumatology
  • Geriatrics
  • Sports medicine
  • Ultrasound
  • Pediatrics
PGY-2 Topics Expand answer
  • Traumatic brain injury (three months)
  • Spinal cord injury (three months)
  • Stroke rehabilitation (three months)
  • Complex care/orthopaedics (three months)
PGY-3 Topics Expand answer
  • Sports medicine (one month)
  • Interventional pain management (one month)
  • Research (one month)
  • Pediatrics (three months)
  • Neurophysiology (three months)
  • Clinic rotation (three months)
PGY-4 Topics Expand answer
  • Consults/senior inpatient (three months)
  • Wound care/procedures (three months)
  • Veterans Association Hospital musculoskeletal electromyography (MSK/EMG) (three months)
  • Clinic rotation (three months)

Resident Honors and Recognitions

Exceptional Teachers Expand answer

Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center accept ongoing nominations for the Exceptional Moments in Teaching award.

The award, given monthly by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment, accepts nominations from College of Medicine students who are invited to submit narratives about faculty members, residents, fellows, nurses or any other educators who challenge them and provide an exceptional learning experience. See more about the award here.

Previous nominees from the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency are listed here. Click the + next to a nominee name to read their nominator’s comments.

Resident/Fellow Research Day Presentations Expand answer

The annual Resident/Fellow Research Day is held each year (with exception of during the COVID-19 pandemic) on and around the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center campus.

The intent of the event is to provide an opportunity for residents and fellows to showcase their research accomplishments to their peers in other clinical departments, as well as their colleagues in the basic sciences.

Learn more about Resident/Fellow Research Day here.

Previous presentations from the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency are listed here.

Latest News from Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.