Helping Heroes: Caring for U.S. Veterans through PM&R Locum Tenens Work

One of the most difficult transitions a veteran faces is coming back to civilian life. If that service member was wounded in battle, that change can become even more complicated.

The number of U.S. service members wounded in Iraq- and Afghanistan-era wars is staggering; the Pentagon's own numbers show that over 50,000 men and women were wounded in these theaters. Many of our nation's heroes are coming back home with serious injuries and chronic disabilities as a result of their service to our country. They deserve the highest level of medical care and support our nation can provide.

PM&R physicians have an important role to play

Providers who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) help patients regain as much of their former physical abilities as possible. Their purview encompasses the entire musculoskeletal and nervous systems, from brain and spinal cord to bones, joints, and muscles. Essentially, PM&R focuses on all of the structures required for movement. Because of this unique specialization, PM&R physicians are our wounded warriors' best hope for reclaiming the physical lives they had before they were injured in service. Wounded veterans often sustain substantial injuries to nervous and musculoskeletal systems.

PM&R covers the physical wounds our service members sustain

Our nation's active-duty service members face many horrors on the field of battle; serious burns, gunshot and shrapnel wounds, pressure shocks from explosives - the list goes on. Many of these injuries interfere with their abilities to function. These injuries require comprehensive treatment plans that include safe and effective pain medicine regimens, rehabilitation, and occupational therapy.

Amputation and limb loss are too often the result of combat. Wounded soldiers need state-of-the-art prosthetic devices to help them regain functional limbs. PM&R physicians help our heroes best utilize these cutting-edge technologies.

Locum tenens opportunities bring PM&R physicians where they are most needed

One of the best ways to help our nation's heroes transition back to civilian life is to get them back to the life they knew before the service. This means getting wounded warriors as close to their hometowns and loved ones as possible. Unfortunately, some regions of the country do not have sufficient numbers of PM&R physicians to adequately care for returning troops. Locum tenens is a critical way to fill that unmet need. Locum tenens provides a mechanism for PM&R physicians to honor our wounded warriors and, in a very real sense, serve our country. Locum tenens PM&R physicians have the opportunity to serve a deserving patient population that will greatly benefit from their expertise.

If you are a PM&R physician who would like to honor our nation's heroes through a locum tenens opportunity, we encourage you to browse our PM&R jobs.