Apply for PM&R Residency

By the time of residency, candidates must have graduated from a school on one of the following:

• Allopathic (U.S. and Canada)
• Osteopathic (U.S. and Canada)
• International: must hold a current, valid ECFMG certificate and be eligible for a State of Michigan professional license. Learn more about State of Michigan license eligibility information

or a medical school outside the United States, with additional successful completion of a Fifth Pathway program provided by an LCME-accredited medical school.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States through U.S. citizenship or through any of the following: 

• eligibility for a J-1 Visa sponsored by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG); must be eligible to renew the J-1 for the length of the training program,
• having a valid Permanent Resident (green card) status,
• being in active pursuit of a green card and in possession of an EAD card, which must be reviewed and approved by the U-M International Center, or
• having an EAD card associated with the granting of deferred action under DACA.

The following documentation is needed for application review:

• Three Letters of Recommendation, including one PM&R Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLoE)
• USMLE or COMLEX Step I result
• USMLE or COMLEX Step II scores
• Personal Statement
• Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) (“Dean’s Letter”)
• Medical School Transcript
• Curriculum Vitae

In holistic application review, we consider evidence of drive and character, PM&R interest and experience, contribution to society or medicine, clinical performance, and academic performance. We account for unique factors in an applicant’s history that may positively enrich our program’s diversity of experience, thought, and background. In our initial screening (but not in our ultimate ranking), we seek a balance of candidates who may serve our regional community as well as communities more broadly.

Where J1 visa sponsorship is needed, where medical school has been completed over 3 years ago, and for physicians already in active clinical practice, we consider candidates with exceptional qualifications. We do not sponsor H1B visas.   

Visiting student experiences (away rotations) in our department serve the primary mission of advancing PM&R education. They have separate leadership and oversight and are not intended solely to fuel our residency admissions. Toward equitable distribution of interview opportunities, visiting student experiences with our department do not guarantee an interview with the residency program. 

We firmly believe that the number of qualified candidates who will become excellent PM&R physicians and colleagues far exceeds the number of interview invitations we can offer. If we don't interact through an interview this year, we still look forward to interacting and collaborating with you in the future, perhaps through cross-institutional, or global PM&R-related endeavors.

The interview process will be virtual. We interview approximately 64 candidates for six advanced positions, with interview dates typically in November and December. We do not send out more interview invitations than interview spots. We invite each interviewing candidate to virtual social event hosted by our residents: an opportunity to learn more about our program and culture. We are eager to show you as much as we can of our opportunities and culture at U-M Health PM&R, to enable you to make the best decision for you personally, in your PM&R career that lies ahead.

We offer a fully optional, in-person second look visit for candidates interested and able to learn more about the program in-person. This visit is limited to approximately 24 registrants.

• No part of the second look experience (interest in it, registering for it, or day-of experience) will influence the program’s rank list. The sign-up process and, if needed, lottery for registration will be handled by a professional not connected to the PM&R residency program or department; we will not know who has registered while we are ranking applicants. This ensures that communication and interest level does not exert any influence on the residency program’s decision-making.
• The residency’s rank list will have been finalized and locked prior to the visit date. Accordingly, we will not be able to alter our rank list based on second look visit interactions. The purpose of the visit is solely to provide another option for applicants to learn about the program and guide their decision making.
• More detail about the second look visit will be shared with those invited to interview.

Apply through ERAS to both the Michigan Medicine PM&R Residency as well as the Trinity Hospital Transitional Year programs. If you interview at both programs, you will have the opportunity to rank the Michigan Medicine PM&R Residency program and use a supplemental rank order list (SROL) to list programs for your intern year. 

On the SROL, you may list up to two separate program codes for Trinity Hospital Transitional Year program: (a) the reserved positions, and (b) the general positions. The three highest ranked candidates matching to the Michigan Medicine PM&R Residency who also rank the Trinity Hospital Transitional Year reserved positions highly enough to Match will secure them. Other candidates matching to the Michigan Medicine PM&R Residency may still match into the Trinity Hospital Transitional Year by way of the non reserved positions.

The partnership between the two programs with TY positions reserved for Michigan Medicine PM&R Residency increases the likelihood that these TY positions will be available for our Matched residents, as a whole. It also invites input from the PM&R selection committee toward the transitional year candidacy: (a) candidates who interview with Michigan Medicine PM&R will also be considered for the Trinity Hospital TY (if they apply) and (b) for the reserved positions, the TY rank list will be identical to that of Michigan Medicine PM&R. Finally, it affords an opportunity to share your intern year experience with several PM&R co-residents.

No. The Michigan Medicine PM&R residency positions will fill in the Match independently of your intern year program selections.

Candidates who schedule an interview with Michigan Medicine PM&R will also be offered an interview with the Trinity TY program, if they have applied to both programs. We will inform all candidates receiving an interview offer from PM&R about this partnership directly, so opportunity is not missed.

Candidates who have not applied to the Trinity Hospital TY in ERAS by the time of their Michigan Medicine PM&R interview will not be able to interview with Dr. Daniel on the same day.

Candidates will interview with the Trinity Hospital TY Program Director, Dr. Rebecca Daniel. This my occur on the same day as their PM&R interview (15 minute time slot), or it may occur separately, scheduled separately by the Trinity Hospital TY Program in a 20 minute timeslot. Selection between the two options is intended purely to serve candidate preference and convenience; the scheduling choice and interview length will not explicitly drive either program’s assessment. If Dr. Daniel is not available on the day of your Michigan Medicine PM&R interview, the Trinity Hospital TY Program will offer you a separate time.

Each program (Michigan Medicine PM&R and Trinity Hospital TY) invites interviewing candidates to meet-and-greet sessions with residents from each program, separately. Each is organized distinctly and will be communicated to you independently of one another. We encourage you to attend these for each program you are considering.

You would list Michigan Medicine PM&R in your primary rank list. Then, in your associated SROL, list both codes for the Trinity Hospital TY in succession (the code for the reserved positions and the code for the general positions).

The Michigan Medicine PM&R Residency will have six positions, up to three of which will come with Trinity Hospital Transitional Year if the applicant ranks the transitional year program highly enough to Match there. The Trinity Hospital Transitional Year will have 12 total positions, of which three will be reserved for Michigan Medicine PM&R residents.