Welcome from the Directors
Ben Laplante, DO, MS
Fellowship Program Director
Rajeev Patel, MD
Chair and Associate Director
Clifford Everett, MD, MPH
Associate Director
At the University of Rochester Medical Center, we are dedicated to helping each and every trainee advance his or her career. Each trainee teams up with a faculty advisor and research mentor. In addition, they receive memberships in the leading national PM&R associations, namely the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) and American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R). Residents also receive funds for books and costs related to attendance at national academic meetings.
Our humanistic emphasis prepares each of our graduates to learn, teach and practice medicine with professionalism, compassion and discipline. Our structured teaching includes a hands-on ultrasound course and significant exposure to a variety of injection procedures including spinal epidurals, ultrasound-guided, and botulinum toxin injections. The University of Rochester is a Level-1 trauma center, CARF-accredited (Commission for the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) spinal cord injury and stroke system of care. Rochester boasts one of the most active spinal cord disability networks in the region and residents are involved in community service for people with spinal cord disability.
Our excellent curriculum prepares our residents well for board exams. We offer twice-yearly mock orals which are well received by the current residents and prepare them for part 2 of the PM&R boards for certification. The rotations and didactic curriculum enables our residents to secure competitive positions of their choice after graduation. These are among the reasons we attract more qualified applicants each year making entrance to our program more competitive. We are both Rochester natives, and have attended out of area medical schools and residencies, and chose to return to Rochester for the variety of opportunities that it has to offer.