Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners

How to become a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician

Official title: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians

Also called: Acute Rehabilitation Unit Physiatrist, Attending Physician, EDX Medicine MD (Electrodiagnostic Medicine Medical Doctor), MD (Medical Doctor), Pain Management Physician, Pediatric Physiatrist, Physiatrist, Physician, PM and R MD (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medical Doctor), Rehabilitation Physician

Diagnose and treat disorders requiring physiotherapy to provide physical, mental, and occupational rehabilitation.

Main tasks

Document examination results, treatment plans, and patients' outcomes.
Examine patients to assess mobility, strength, communication, or cognition.
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.
Assess characteristics of patients' pain, such as intensity, location, or duration, using standardized clinical measures.
Monitor effectiveness of pain management interventions, such as medication or spinal injections.
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.
Consult or coordinate with other rehabilitative professionals, including physical and occupational therapists, rehabilitation nurses, speech pathologists, neuropsychologists, behavioral psychologists, social workers, or medical technicians.
Prescribe orthotic and prosthetic applications and adaptive equipment, such as wheelchairs, bracing, or communication devices, to maximize patient function and self-sufficiency.

How to become one

Physicians and surgeons typically need a bachelor's degree as well as a medical degree, which takes an additional 4 years to complete. Depending on their specialty, they also need 3 to 9 years in internship and residency programs. Subspecialization includes additional training in a fellowship of 1 to 3 years.

Typical education to start: Doctoral or professional degree

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

College: Medicine & Dentistry degrees, Offered by 23 universities in the US
Licence: A licence is required in 47 states.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: $265,930 a year The middle half earn $102,930 to $378,770.
About 367,400 people work in this job now, and about 380,100 are projected by 2035. (+3.4%)
People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician?

How much does a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $265,930 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $102,930 to $378,770.

Is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician a growing career in the US?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 3% by 2035, from about 367,400 to about 380,100 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician?

Usually. 100% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.