Trainee preparedness to enter physiatry residency: Findings from a national cross-sectional survey study

The transition from internship to residency represents an important period for trainees. However, little is known about self-assessed preparedness among physiatry trainees. This national cross-sectional exploratory survey of United States post-graduate year (PGY) 2-4 physiatry residents aimed to examine self-reported preparedness at the start of PGY-2. A total of 109 PGY 2-4 residents completed this survey, with 57.8% (63/109) reporting feeling prepared to assume patient care responsibilities at the start of PGY-2 and 42.2% (46/109) reporting feeling unprepared to do so. Specific internship experiences (e.g. developing comfort handling overnight calls and rapid responses), but not type of intern year (e.g. transitional year, preliminary internal medicine or surgery year, intern year included in a categorical physiatry residency program) may be associated with self-reported clinical preparedness. Further research is warranted to explore in more detail factors identified as potentially associated with self-assessed clinical preparedness, as well as opportunities to identify and address physiatry trainee needs.