PENNSYLVANIA, USA — It takes a lot of work to get ready for race day, but that preparation is nothing compared to what it takes to become one of the doctors serving patients in Allied Service's Rehab Hospital, even after earning and undergraduate degree and attending medical school.
"And then you do anywhere from three to five, typically, years of residency. And then you can do a year of fellowship as well, and then you become from resident to fellow to attending. And attending is just a full-fledged physician that is pretty much has no oversight from another position," said Dr. Abhinav Arora, Physiatrist.
These are some of the senior residents in their final months of study in the Wright Center's Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) Residency through a partnership with Allied Services Integrated Health System and Northeastern Rehabilitation Associates.
There are currently 15 residents here focusing on the movement and functionality of patients at Allied Services Rehabilitation Hospital.
"So as physiatrists, our ultimate goal is to prove a patient's level of function, to maximize their level of independence when they're at home," said Dr. Bradley Bierman, Physiatrist.
"We are sometimes known as muscle-ologists or kinesiologists. It's just a study of movement dynamics and how that pertains to injuries and other pathological states, disease states, and what we can do to treat them," said Dr. Arora.
And if you ask these doctors why they chose to take their careers down this path they'll give you similar answers we hear from Team Allied marathon runners who chose to dedicate their time and energy to run.
"What stood out to me were the people here. I was looking for a program that was truly dedicated in a resident's growth. And when meeting Dr G, I saw how this was something he didn't have to do. It's something he wanted to give back to the community and to the residents," said Dr. Bradley.
"It kind of goes beyond just the Medical Foundation. They teach us how to have a really good rapport with patients. They teach us how to connect with patients, and those are kind of the gold standards of how we should be treating patients in this community," said Dr. Alan Lam, Physiatrist.
"The community feeling here, the caring of the people here, it's unparalleled by anybody, really. Some of the hospitals changed over the years but Allied has been the same hometown type of environment since 1958 and on," said Dr Ken Gentilezza, Northeast Rehab.
To learn more about supporting the work these doctors do for children at Allied Services, click here.