What does a physiatrist do?
Physiatrists must have a bachelor's degree in physical sciences or a related field, a M.D. or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, and 4 to 7 years' internship and residency training specializing in rehab and physical medicine. This position pays annual salaries of around $58K to $370K. It requires skills in empathy, compassion, emotional resilience, monitoring, and strong initiative to work in challenging environments. Physiatrists diagnose illnesses, design plans for treatment, and prescribe various medicines.
Physiatrist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real physiatrist resumes:
- Monitor and manage patient medical records in compliance with HIPPA.
- Provide physical medicine and rehabilitation services under the direct supervision of orthopedic surgeons.
- Work closely with CNO to improve morale of staff.
- Evaluate complex test results to ensure patient diagnosis is comprehensive and accurate.
- Work closely with attorneys and physicians in scheduling patients for refer treatment and for depositions.
- Work predominantly with patients suffering with arthritis pain, back pain, leg pain, migraines, etc.
- Practice general neurologic and musculoskeletal rehabilitation medicine.
- Perform female and male Cathatherization (insert Foley catheters).
- Practice general neurologic and musculoskeletal rehabilitation medicine.
Physiatrist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 35% of Physiatrists are proficient in Patients, Rehabilitation, and Physical Medicine. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Physiatrists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 35%
Worked predominantly with patients suffering with arthritis pain, back pain, leg pain, migraines, etc.
- Rehabilitation, 34%
Head of a department of Rehabilitation for 11 years.
- Physical Medicine, 19%
Head of Physical medicine Department with all the responsibilities of Physical medicine and Rehab Physician.
- Patient Care, 7%
Traveled between DC and MD location to manage office and coordinate patient care.
- Pain Management, 2%
Diagnose and treat general musculoskeletal spine and joint pain conditions, with various pain management modalities
- Diagnosis, 2%
Evaluated complex test results to ensure patient diagnosis is comprehensive and accurate.
"patients," "rehabilitation," and "physical medicine" are among the most common skills that physiatrists use at work. You can find even more physiatrist responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a physiatrist to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what physiatrists do because "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." Additionally, a physiatrist resume shows how physiatrists use communication skills: "facilitated physician relations by enabling open communication and collaboration to improve overall clinical and financial operations of the units. "
Compassion. Another essential skill to perform physiatrist duties is compassion. Physiatrists responsibilities require that "patients who are sick or injured may be in extreme pain or distress." Physiatrists also use compassion in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provided competent, compassionate patient care and worked effectively as a member of the health care team. "
Detail oriented. physiatrists are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to physiatrist responsibilities, because "patients must receive appropriate treatment and medications." A physiatrist resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "interpret and ensure accuracy of detailed documentation to facilitate patient care and safety. "
Dexterity. A big part of what physiatrists do relies on "dexterity." You can see how essential it is to physiatrist responsibilities because "physicians and surgeons may work with very precise and sometimes sharp tools, and mistakes can have serious consequences." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical physiatrist tasks: "averaged about 100 phone calls per day on top of hands on patient care duties. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in physiatrist job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what physiatrists do. Physiatrist responsibilities rely on this skill because "physicians who work in their own practice must manage a staff of other professionals." You can also see how physiatrist duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "observed patient care and learned about common diseases 42 hours shadowed total leadership positions"
Organizational skills. Lastly, "organizational skills" is an important element of what a physiatrist does. Physiatrist responsibilities require this skill because "good recordkeeping and other organizational skills are critical in both medical and business settings." This resume example highlights how physiatrist duties rely on this skill: "consulted with management on organizational and behavioral issues, building confidence in their effective utilization of the eap program. "
The three companies that hire the most physiatrists are:
- Concentra43 physiatrists jobs
- Provider Solutions & Development6 physiatrists jobs
- Interpath Labs5 physiatrists jobs
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Compare different physiatrists
Physiatrist vs. Occupational medicine physician
An occupational medicine physician is a health care professional who specializes in the management and prevention of occupational illnesses, injuries, and disabilities. As the occupational medicine physician, your duties typically include enhancing the health of workers through clinical care, preventive medicine, and education. In addition, you will assess and treat work-related illnesses, assist employers in identifying areas of risk for workers' health and safety. You will be responsible for evaluating the interaction between health and work.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, physiatrist responsibilities require skills like "patients," "rehabilitation," "physical medicine," and "patient care." Meanwhile a typical occupational medicine physician has skills in areas such as "dot," "emr," "cme," and "internal medicine." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Occupational medicine physicians earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $200,176. On the other hand, physiatrists are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $218,711.The education levels that occupational medicine physicians earn slightly differ from physiatrists. In particular, occupational medicine physicians are 14.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a physiatrist. Additionally, they're 9.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physiatrist vs. Medical director acute rehabilitation unit physiatrist
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, physiatrist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "rehabilitation," "physical medicine," and "physical medicine rehabilitation." Meanwhile, a medical director acute rehabilitation unit physiatrist has duties that require skills in areas such as "surg," "acls," "cno," and "fte." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, medical directors acute rehabilitation unit physiatrist achieve lower levels of education than physiatrists. They're 8.0% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 9.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physiatrist vs. Rehabilitation physician
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a physiatrist is likely to be skilled in "patients," "rehabilitation," "physical medicine," and "patient care," while a typical rehabilitation physician is skilled in "aprn," "family practice," "pediatrics," and "medical billing."
Most rehabilitation physicians achieve a higher degree level compared to physiatrists. For example, they're 12.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physiatrist vs. Physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist
Types of physiatrist
Updated January 8, 2025
