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Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship

The Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is accredited for two years following a PM&R residency and one year after a combined Pediatrics-PM&R residency.

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, formerly known as Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago has been recognized as the nation’s #1 rehabilitation hospital since 1991.

We establish a good balance between outpatient, consults, inpatient, research, and education. Our fellow is an integral part of the pediatric rehabilitation team at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and has the advantage of drawing from multiple pediatric subspecialties in the Chicago area, including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Shriners Hospital for Children.

Our fellow becomes an active member of the pediatric rehabilitation team with responsibilities in teaching residents and medical students, as well as, the opportunity to learn from our therapists and other subspecialty clinicians.

Research is an important part of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and of the fellowship. Opportunities exist to become involved with basic research scientists, as well as, with clinical projects. We actively participate in a variety of research opportunities including mitochondrial research, robotic technology, early diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP), community participation and function after congenital brachial plexus injury, among many others. We actively participate in CP registry efforts at the local and national level.

Fellows are encouraged to enhance community participation for children with disabilities, such as referring to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s Caring for Kids program and other community resources.

We pride ourselves on the success of our trainees, most of whom go on to appointment at very reputable institutions and have identified themselves as leaders in the field of pediatric rehabilitation medicine.

About the Program

 Program Aims and Objectives

  • Provide fellows in pediatric rehabilitation with exposure to a variety of common, complex, and rare pediatric rehabilitation diagnoses under the guidance of engaged core faculty.
  • Provide fellows in pediatric rehabilitation with knowledge and skills to treat and manage complex care in collaboration with related subspecialty experts.
  • Provide fellows in pediatric rehabilitation with knowledge and skills to treat and manage complex care in collaboration with related subspecialty experts.
  • Provide fellows in pediatric rehabilitation with a supportive environment that provides skills necessary for fellows to develop into leaders and contributors to new knowledge in the area of pediatric rehabilitation.

 Clinical Experience

We also offer opportunities at day rehabilitation sites, an elective opportunity at Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago, opportunities at inpatient units and a wide variety of common and rare diagnosis experience in all levels of care.

  • Shirley Ryan Ability offers 30-bed inpatient pediatric rehabilitation service that draws from local, national, and international sources. Typical experiences include management of children with cerebral palsy, neuromuscular disorders, brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries, limb deficiencies, burn injuries, pain, oncology-related impairments, and organ transplant.
  • Inpatient team members includes PRM core faculty, pediatric hospitalist consultants, advanced practice nurse, 2 PM&R residents, clinical educators, pharmacist, respiratory therapists, nursing, and therapists, among others. Each fellow has 4 months on the inpatient team per year.
  • Monthly Weekend call with 1:1 attending supervision

Consults at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

  • Collaboration with other specialists and experts including Neurology, Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Hematology & Oncology, among others.

Multidisciplinary Clinics

  • Cerebral Palsy/Spasticity Clinic
  • NICU follow up clinic and early diagnosis
  • Spina Bifida
  • Congenital Brachial Plexus Injury
  • Adolescent Chronic Pain program
  • Brain Tumor Clinic
  • Neuromuscular Clinic/Muscular Dystrophy Association clinic
  • Vascular Lesion Clinic

Procedures

  • Botulinum toxin injections
  • Ultrasound access for injection localization and diagnosis
  • Phenol nerve block
  • Intrathecal baclofen pump evaluation and management
  • Intraoperative monitoring for selective dorsal rhizotomies
  • On-site gait analysis and interpretation
  • Non-invasive pain management techniques, including facial distortion model, acupuncture, and frequency specific micro current (FSM). FSM is low intensity electrical morality that utilizes tissue specific frequencies to reduce pain and improve tissue healing
  • Onsite prosthetics and orthotics evaluation, fabrication, and management

Fellow Continuity Clinic

  • Weekly clinic led by the fellow and staffed by rotating faculty

 Research

  • Research and Patient Safety/Quality Improvement projects requirement with guidance from faculty and other researchers
  • Support from Northwestern statisticians
  • Yearly research presentation at the Annual Sarah Baskin Research Day
  • Access to courses and research software available through Galter Health Sciences Library & Learning Center Library
  • Variety of research opportunities including mitochondrial research, Robotic technology, early diagnosis of CP, community participation and function after congenital brachial plexus injury, among many others
  • We participate in CP registry efforts at the local and national level

 Teaching Opportunities

  • Monthly didactics, including case presentation and expert presentation from attending or invited lecturer
  • Monthly Journal Club covering different topics in the field of PRM
  • Monthly Journal Club dedicated to the topic of Cerebral Palsy
  • Weekly Grand Rounds
  • Monthly Fellowship Seminar Series
  • Yearly Grand Rounds presentation by fellow
  • ccess to teaching residents and medical students on a daily basis in inpatient and outpatient setting
  • Participation in resident didactic curriculum
  • Yearly ultrasound course with residents
  • Weekly research seminars led by experts in research
  • Ethics Rounds held quarterly
  • Opportunities in Medical Education training

 Past Fellows: Where are they now?

  • Dawn Deike, DO
    • Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinical Faculty at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Laura Black, MD
    • Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics Indiana University School of Medicine
    • Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinical Faculty at Riley Hospital Indiana
  • Jessica Pruente
    • Assistant Professor PM&R University of Michigan
    • Pediatric Clinical Faculty
  • Ana-Marie Rojas, MD
    • Assistant Professor PM&R Feinberg School of Medicine
    • Attending Physician Pediatric PMR, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
    • PRM Fellowship program Director
  • David Fogelman, MD
    • Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
    • Clinical Instructor of PMR Harvard Medical School
  • Larissa Pavone, MD
    • Attending Physician Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital,
    • PM&R Presidency Program Director, Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital
  • Justin Burton, MD
    • Division Chief, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine
    • Children is National Hospital, Washington, D.C.

 How to Apply

We use NRMP to match candidates. The deadline for registering/submitting to the match is mid-December.

Visit ERAS® - The Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®) streamlines the application and document delivery process for U.S. fellowship positions.

Contact Us

Ana-Marie Rojas, MD

Ana-Marie Rojas, MD

Program Director

arojas( at )sralab.org

312-238-1000

View Faculty Profile

Jamie Byrne

Fellowship Coordinator

If you have questions or comments, please contact Jamie Byrne at jbyrne@sralab.org or 312-238-2870.

Fellows

Nova Hou, MD/MPH

Nova Hou, MD/MPH

Residency: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School/Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation 
Ankur Mathur, DO

Ankur Mathur, DO

Residency: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab/Northwestern McGaw

Housestaff Training at McGaw


McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University offers exceptional training experiences at nationally ranked hospitals and fosters a culture of diversity, innovation and excellence.

WATCH THE MCGAW EXPERIENCE VIDEO

Why Northwestern?


Learn more about the benefits of training at a world-class academic medical center in a diverse and vibrant city of Chicago. Further program details, including the Department of Medicine housestaff manual and a sample training contract, are available on our McGaw Medical Center Graduate Education site.

LEARN MORE ON THE MCGAW WEBSITE

Physician-Scientist Training & Resources

We offer a wide range of resources, mentorship opportunities and training to help our residents and fellows excel as physician-scientists. Explore all of the resources and hear from housestaff who are making research a major part of their career development plans.

VISIT THE STARZL ACADEMY SITE

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