Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Our department educates residents in transitions of care for patients from the acute inpatient rehabilitation setting to subacute and outpatient rehabilitation settings and produces practitioners who exhibit the highest level of clinical and medical competence.
Empowering Rehabilitation and Recovery
We are the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for both Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. In addition, we have an ACGME-accredited residency and two ACGME-accredited fellowships in brain injury medicine and pain medicine.
The JFK Johnson Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) Residency Program has consistently received Five Stars—the highest rating—for its Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Training program from Doximity, the leading network for U.S. Physicians.
Sara Cuccurullo, MD
Chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Academic Programs
The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) Residency Program at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is a fully accredited (five-year) program by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). This well-rounded program is credited with giving residents extensive opportunities for hands-on training with electrodiagnostic testing, Botulinum toxin injections for treatment of spasticity, baclofen pump refills, and peripheral joint injections. Residents graduating from the program feel very confident in their medical knowledge, clinical and procedural skills, and have great success in obtaining fellowship positions and employment after graduation. The program also has a 100% Board Pass Rate.
The PM&R Program also offers two ACGME-accredited one year fellowship training programs, offering one open position per year in the Brain Injury Medicine Fellowship and one open position per year in the Pain Medicine Fellowship.
An original research project is required during residency training. JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute is currently conducting research studies in the areas of head injuries, stroke recovery, spasticity, Parkinson’s disease and neuropsychology, to name only a few. Each resident, after identifying a research area, is encouraged to present at the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) or the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) national meeting prior to graduation. Residents also have the opportunity to participate in ongoing research projects and the Rehab Medicine Scientist Training Program funded by NIH and the AAP.
Residents care for patients within a variety of other on-site and off-site health care settings, including various inpatient and outpatient units at JFK University Medical Center; the JFK Hartwyck Nursing, and Rehabilitation Center in Edison, NJ; and Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside, NJ. We have consult and EMG services in Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ.
