Alumni Share Their Journeys in Rehabilitation Medicine
By Anastasios Karoussos, OMS-2 丨 April 30, 2025
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) is a unique and often misunderstood specialty that focuses on restoring function and improving quality of life. Despite its crucial role in healthcare, it often flies under the radar for many medical students. To shed light on the field, I spoke with alumni from the Marian University Tom and Julie Wood College of Osteopathic Medicine (MU-WCOM) who pursued PM&R to understand their journeys, challenges, and insights. Through this blog series, I hope to provide perspective on why medical students should consider a career in this valuable and rapidly growing specialty.
In this much shorter and final post, alumni will share their last bit of wisdom for students who are interested in pursuing PM&R.
Austin Boos, DO ’20
“If you're at all interested in this field, I think the biggest thing is that you take interest in exploring more on your own and learning about PM&R.”
Bryan Wacker, DO ‘22
“I always tell people who I mentor through the match to definitely get exposure early because PM&R is one of those fields where every single interview you'll do, you'll get the question, ‘Why PM&R’. It’s such a niche specialty that people really want to know that you are truly interested in providing this type of care.”
Collin Young, DO ’22
“Try to find something interesting in every specialty that you encounter in medical school. It will make the next four years more enjoyable and will allow you to keep an open mind.”
Mackenzie Sacks, DO ’21
“Rehab is a specialty where, the moment you receive an invitation for an interview, programs simply want to see that you are a normal person. So, if this is the specialty that you want to pursue, take your time now and really allow yourself to be involved in activities that you really enjoy because that is what makes you human and what will allow you to connect with your patients on a more human level.”
Seth Katzen, DO ’17
“The advice I always give people when they're still at the medical school level and are looking to go into PM&R is always to try to go into it with an open mind and be appreciative of all the things that you're learning along the way. Going in with a very pinpoint focus on what I knew I wanted to do made me less appreciative of the other rotations that I had to spend a considerable amount of time doing.”
In summary, the Marian University Alumni expressed the importance an extensive knowledge and interest in a variety of different specialties and body systems due to the specialty’s broad scope and interdisciplinary nature. Moreover, they determined that it was of utmost importance that medical students who express an interest in rehabilitation explore their interests and develop into knowledgeable yet, even more importantly, well-rounded individuals to provide compassionate and holistic care.
Anastasios Karoussos, OMS-2
Anastasios Karoussos is a second-year student at the Marian University Tom and Julie Wood College of Osteopathic Medicine with a strong interest in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is passionate about holistic, personalized healthcare, disability health advocacy, mentorship, and education.
Visit myMU