UMMC launches Mississippi’s first physical medicine and rehabilitation residency

For years, University of Mississippi Medical Center medical students interested in pursuing physical medicine and rehabilitation had to leave Mississippi to complete their residency training.

Now, that is changing.

The School of Medicine has received accreditation to establish a residency program in physical medicine and rehabilitation, completing UMMC's core residency offerings while creating another pathway to train — and potentially retain — physicians in a state facing a persistent doctor shortage.

The program received approval from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education on July 1.

Dr. Jennifer Hankenson, program director and associate professor of neurosurgery, said the new residency will provide comprehensive training across the full spectrum of rehabilitation medicine, beginning with a strong foundation in internal medicine.

"They will get a really good foundation in internal medicine because a lot of what we do in physical medicine and rehab is making sure patients are medically stable," Hankenson said. "That foundation is absolutely important to their training process, and we are lucky that internal medicine has been so supportive because it allows our trainees to really learn the system from day one and create these great relationships."

Accreditation marks the culmination of an effort that began several years ago.

Hankenson said the School of Medicine first began working to establish the residency program in 2018. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, along with subsequent changes within the department and division, prevented the program from coming to fruition.

In 2025, she was tasked with renewing the effort to establish the residency, which was not a new process to her. She previously helped establish the physical medicine and rehabilitation program at Yale School of Medicine.

"It takes a lot of thought and planning, and lots of people coming together with the same goal, really, to get the residency program off the ground," Hankenson said.

Sponsored by the Department of Neurosurgery and overseen by UMMC's Graduate Medical Education leadership, development of the program required coordination across multiple areas of the Medical Center to ensure it met ACGME requirements for resident education and training.

“The accreditation of UMMC’s new Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program is an exciting milestone for our institution and for patients across Mississippi," said Dr. Chad Washington, chair of neurosurgery and chief perioperative executive. "PM&R physicians are vital members of the multidisciplinary teams caring for patients with brain, spine and neurologic conditions. We look forward to growing this program to advance patient-centered care, improve functional recovery and help train outstanding physicians for our state.”

The addition of the program also addresses a significant need for rehabilitation medicine in Mississippi.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation focuses on helping patients recover function and independence following injuries, illnesses and other conditions that can affect mobility. Patients recovering from strokes, traumatic brain injuries, amputations and other conditions that cause ongoing physical impairments are among those who can benefit from PM&R care.

The need is particularly significant in Mississippi, where physicians care for patients with mobility impairments related to trauma, neurological disorders and age-related conditions. According to the Mississippi Healthcare Alliance, the state has one of the highest stroke mortality rates in the United States. In 2022, the age-adjusted stroke death rate was 54.2 per 100,000 people, significantly higher than the national average. Stroke is among the top five causes of death in the state, claiming approximately 1,500 lives annually.

"With the super high rates of stroke in Mississippi, the very high rates of amputations and, in general, the aging population, we get a lot of patients who are 80, 90 years old who fall and break a hip. Now they need to relearn how to walk again, so these are the patients that we are typically addressing," said Dr. Hyung Kim, associate professor of neurosurgery.

Kim has worked to help establish the residency program since coming to UMMC in 2014. Working alongside Hankenson and leaders at Methodist Rehabilitation, which will serve as one of the program's primary training sites, Kim said establishing the residency made sense for both UMMC and Mississippi.

"PM&R has become more well known and more competitive," Kim said. "We have always had a little bit of interest amongst the university's medical students here about PM&R, and I have mentored several within the last few years. There is usually one or two per class who want to go into it, but of course they can't do it here, so they end up leaving the state of Mississippi, and who knows if they are going to come back."

That is a trend Hankenson hopes the new program can help change.

"As large a state as Mississippi is, there are so few PM&R doctors, especially for the amount of patients that need that care," Hankenson said. "It is absolutely one of my goals to see some of our graduates from the residency program stay in the area, work in the area and serve the community of Mississippi."

As part of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program, residents will receive training across several specialties, including neurology, orthopedic surgery and rheumatology. The broad scope of the field will also include rotations in other departments, giving residents experience caring for patients with a variety of rehabilitation needs.

The residency program has been approved for 16 residents, with up to four residents per year. Kim said the program plans to initially welcome two or three residents per year, with hopes of eventually reaching its full complement.

For a state already facing a physician shortage, Hankenson said the goal extends beyond simply training the next generation of PM&R physicians. By giving them an opportunity to complete their residency in Mississippi, the program could also give more physicians a reason to build their careers here.