Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians

Document examination results, treatment plans, and patients' outcomes.

Examine patients to assess mobility, strength, communication, or cognition.

Assess characteristics of patients' pain such as intensity, location, or duration using standardized clinical measures.

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.

Monitor effectiveness of pain management interventions such as medication or spinal injections.

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.

Coordinate physical medicine and rehabilitation services with other medical activities.

Prescribe physical therapy to relax the muscles and improve strength.

Perform electrodiagnosis including electromyography, nerve conduction studies, or somatosensory evoked potentials of neuromuscular disorders or damage.

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 therapy services, such as electrotherapy, ultrasonography, heat or cold therapy, hydrotherapy, debridement, short-wave or microwave diathermy, and infrared or ultraviolet radiation, to enhance rehabilitation.

Instruct interns and residents in the diagnosis and treatment of temporary or permanent physically disabling conditions.

Diagnose or treat performance-related conditions such as sports injuries or repetitive motion injuries.

Prescribe orthotic and prosthetic applications and adaptive equipment, such as wheelchairs, bracing, or communication devices, to maximize patient function and self-sufficiency.

Conduct physical tests such as functional capacity evaluations to determine injured workers' capabilities to perform the physical demands of their jobs.