Welcome to Pathways in PM&R!

Prior to medical school I was exposed to an interventional spine physiatrist which inspired me and ignited my desire to pursue a career in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R). Coming into medical school I was eager and hungry to explore physiatry, but unfortunately, I went through the first two years of medical school and only had one PM&R lecture. I was very fortunate to attend a medical school that had a robust PM&R department, but despite this, the lack of exposure during the early medical school curriculum was disappointing for me. Around the end of the second year of medical school I went to a national PM&R conference which was truly a life changing and eye opening experience. I couldn’t believe how broad the specialty was, how many different career opportunities were out there, and just how kind and down to earth every single person was. As I combed through the program schedule trying to choose which of the exciting sessions I wanted to go to, I could not help but think, there are so many trainees out there who would absolutely love this field but never know about it until it's too late. I quickly realized that I wanted to find a way to share this euphoria I was experiencing and this hidden gem of a specialty with as many colleagues as possible. 

Around the same time as this, I knew I was interested in pursuing PM&R residency at Mayo Clinic based on previous conversations with my mentor who trained at Mayo and introduced me to PM&R, so I reached out to collaborate with the Mayo Clinic PM&R interest group. I connected with the leader of the their interest group and shared my idea of providing a platform for trainees to learn about the breadth of physiatry, provide valuable resources and opportunities for trainees interested in physiatry, and especially try to reach students who do not have a home PM&R program as these trainees mostly likely had even less opportunities and exposure to PM&R than I did. Following this, we reached out to a few colleagues at different schools who then reached out to their friends, who then also reached out to their friends, and BOOM Pathways in PM&R was created! Next, we created a schedule of events and emailed every single United States MD/DO school to try to spread the word about or initiative.

We had our first session October 6, 2022 and haven’t looked back since. We have hosted numerous virtual events, created educational and professional development resources, run a mentorship program, host a podcast, and have even hosted a 4 day virtual PM&R fair. We have reached trainees from over 150 medical schools and 20+ countries and counting. We are passionate about continuing to expand our outreach and now expanding into content that is also valuable to PM&R residents/fellows. Each day we strive to continue tearing down barriers and knowledge gaps trainees face and promoting the amazing field of PM&R!

-Hunter Soleymani, MD, Founder and President of Pathways in PM&R