Training in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Abstract

Rehabilitation is a word that denotes restoration or improvement in condition. In medicine it is concerned with a type of practice which places broad social responsibilities on the physician. Physical medicine and rehabilitation is directed toward treatment of disability. It is concerned not only with medicine but with social, educational, and vocational opportunities for patients. The services of nurses, therapists, counselors, and teachers are utilized. The dedicated assistance of these coprofessional groups has done much to elevate standards of medical care. Individuals preparing themselves for medical practice today must be taught the methods and techniques of rehabilitation, along with their obligations and responsibilities to the numerous allied groups with whom they are associated in practice. A New Medical Responsibility The United States Army, in World War I, developed methods to shorten convalescence, provide vocational training, and return the soldier to work or to the highest level of self-care. 1 To