PM&R Program Chairman Interview
Martin Grabois, MD
Chairman of PM&R
Baylor College of
Medicine/University of Texas Alliance
The following interview was
conducted with Martin Grabois, MD, a past president of AAPM&R and Fellow
member who has been chair of the Baylor PM&R department since 1978.
What made you decide to
become a chairman?
During residency, I thought that
I wanted to go into general practice in a private setting. As chief resident
I became more involved in administrative duties, and decided that I wanted
to go into academics. One year after residency, I accepted a faculty
position at Baylor and became the residency program director, which involved
many administrative duties. Over the next three years I decided that I
wanted to become a chairman at some point in my career. I realized that one
of my talents was in administration.
If a resident knows that he
or she wants to become chairman, what advice would you give them?
Most residents going into
practice do not plan their future - they just let it happen. Being a
chairman takes planning. You need to be in an academic environment. You
need to take on administrative responsibilities both in your program and at
the national level. You should be willing to step up to the plate when a
residency program director position becomes available, as well as an
opportunity to act as program director for a board review course. You
should become actively involved with AAPM&R and AAP. Let the incoming
president know that you are interested in serving as a committee member,
submitting a course proposal, attending meetings, etc. It would be nice if
you have all three strengths - educational, research, and clinical. You
certainly need a clinical subspecialty, and it would be helpful if you had
some research involvement. You should plan where you see yourself in 10
years, and what are you going to do each year to achieve that goal.
Has this been a rewarding
experience for you?
It has been very rewarding. I
watched the program develop. When I began here there were 6 residents and
perhaps 8 faculty. It has expanded in quantity (now 42 residents and 25
faculty) and also in quality. One of the greatest satisfactions is seeing
residents after graduation become active in the field and maintain
relationships. Three of our former residents are now chairmen (David Cifu,
MD, Medical College of Virginia; Gregory Worsowicz, MD. University of
Missouri-Columbia; and Steve Gnatz, MD, Loyola University). Four former
Baylor residents currently serve on the AAPM&R Board of Governors and two
serve on the AAP Board.
What advice would you give to
those who are about to receive appointment to their first chair position?
Seek out a mentorship from
another chairman who is in a different subspecialty and in the same
university setting. Take advice from PM&R chairmen that have been in their
positions for a length of time. There are courses for those involved in
administration, including for new chairmen.
How has the position of
chairman changed in terms of responsibilities, time commitment, etc.?
I always have performed 50
percent clinical and 50 percent administrative. I think you have to
prioritize. There is a tendency as time goes on to perform less clinical,
and you need to decide if that is what you want. What I expected and
demanded from new faculty in the past is not what is expected with the
current faculty. Reimbursement is decreasing, so it becomes challenging to
have a positive bottom line when other expenses increase but physician
revenue does not. The rules and regulations in medicine as a whole have
changed the face of medicine dramatically.
How has this program changed
during your chairmanship?
Up until 1990, we had two
separate departments - the physical medicine department and the
rehabilitation medicine department. In 1990, Baylor decided to combine the
departments under one chairman. In 1996, the Baylor College of Medicine
department of PM&R and the University of Texas Health Science Center Houston
department of PM&R formed the BCM/UTHSC-H PM&R Alliance. The combined
resources of these two departments provide strength for the BCM/UTHSC-H PM&R
Alliance as an academic discipline moving into the 21st century.
What short and long term
goals would you like to accomplish during your chairmanship?
I still am energized with new
ideas and tasks to achieve. One goal is to reinvent the department’s
culture. I see more faculty that are less involved. I want to set in place
retreats to reinvent how faculty complete tasks and to get them more
involved. Other goals are to continue to maintain the hospital and program
affiliations and to make them viable. I would like to expand our research
program, even though it is currently one of the best in the country. I
would like clinical faculty to become involved in research and to conduct
more bedside teaching. I also would like to expand the musculoskeletal
component.
Any other pearls of wisdom
for the residents?
-
If you are going to do a
job, do a good job.
-
You need to be inclusive of
people and not make enemies. Do not make enemies, because you never
know when you are going to need a favor down the line.
-
Balance your work with your
family.
Benoy Benny, MD
benoyb2000@yahoo.com
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