Brain Injury Medicine Fellowship at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute

Program Overview

The JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute offers a one-year ACGME Accredited Brain Injury Medicine Fellowship Program opportunity for a Board Eligible/Board Certified physiatrist interested in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBl)/Neurorehabilitation. The fellowship is available through a collaborative effort of the Center For Brain Injuries at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison, NJ, the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, Hackensack Meridian Health and the Robert Wood Johnson health and educational systems are renowned for their advanced clinical programs and leading-edge research.

The Center for Brain Injuries at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute provides rehabilitation services to patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) through a continuum of care rehabilitation model. This model incorporates acute care trauma consults, inpatient acute and sub-acute rehabilitation and comprehensive outpatient treatment.

This fellowship will provide the selected candidate with exposure to the continuum of care for patients with a spectrum of severity of impairments from brain injury. Senior faculty members are at the core of the clinical care and will be mentoring the fellow. The experiences and challenges of this one year fellowship will prepare the candidate to medically manage the brain injury patient population on the in- and outpatient basis, and ultimately direct and manage a brain injury program.

Upon completion of the program, the fellow will demonstrate the ability to:

• Clinically manage the medical, pharmacological and rehabilitative needs of persons with traumatic and non-traumatic brain injury
• Competently perform mental status and neurological exams as well as interpretation and application of neuro-imaging studies and neuropsychologic testing
• Develop and implement specialized treatment regimens including behavioral modification programs and programs for patients with disorders of consciousness
• Function as the leader of the rehabilitation team designing and implementing comprehensive rehabilitation programs in inpatient and outpatient settings
• Manage spasticity through various means including serial casting, medications, motor point and nerve blocks, botulinum toxin injections and intrathecal baclofen pumps
• Demonstrate an understanding of the management principles and practices related to the brain injury medicine
• Develop an understanding of clinical medical research through topics in statistics, basic measurements, IRB approvals and clinical design

Education will be done in a variety of settings in the JFK University Medical Center and Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Hospital systems, including:

• Inpatient Acute Brain Injury Rehabilitation
• Subacute Inpatient Brain Injury Rehabilitation
• Outpatient Brain Injury Rehabilitation
• Spasticity/Baclofen Clinic
• Acute trauma consults
• Neuroradiology

Electives may be available based on the fellow’s and the department’s needs and interests.

Fellows are assisted in completing at least one research project during their training. Project suggestions and assistance may be obtained from the fellowship director and/or other faculty members. Senior grant funded investigators are working on state of the art research to advance the understanding and clinical care of brain injured patients. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in this research and develop research projects of their own. The fellow is given the opportunity to present their research at the Annual Brain Injury Alliance Seminar in May of every year.