The University of Toledo

The University of Toledo Medical Center’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program prepares doctors well for the specialty, as evidenced by two residents scoring among the highest in the country on an annual exam.

Eli Lynch, a fourth-year resident, scored in the 99th percentile of the specialty’s self-assessment exam, and Christian Wuescher, a third-year resident, scored in the 98th percentile.

Both said they were pleased with how they performed on the exam, but credited their resident education at UTMC for their high scores.

“I think it speaks to our program,” said Wuescher, who also attended medical school at UT. “We’re getting everything we need and then some.”

Residents in programs across the country take the exam, so the UTMC residents were compared to their peers at institutions such as Harvard and Stanford.

Doctors in the physical medicine and rehabilitation specialty help patients with bone, muscle and nerve conditions, including stroke, multiple sclerosis, and brain, musculoskeletal and spinal cord injuries.

“Our attending physicians really take the extra time to make sure we get the education and experience we need to do our best,” Lynch said. “I think they take education very seriously here.”

“This honor recognizes the quality students and residents we have at The University of Toledo and acknowledges the outstanding physicians and therapists who are guiding them,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, UT Health Science Campus provost, executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine. “It is through the hard work of all of these people that we prepare future doctors who provide university-quality care to our communities.”

Out of the 150 questions on the exam, the residents got just a handful incorrect.

“This is pretty rare. It’s a testament to the amount of work these guys put in,” said Dr. Steven Farrell, associate professor and chief residency program director for physical medicine and rehabilitation. “And not only are these two people extremely intelligent, but they are extremely down-to-earth and well-rounded physicians.”

Lynch and Wuescher will share the 2010 Gregory A. Nemunaitis Resident Performance Award from the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program for their achievements.

This entry was posted  on  Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 at  5:10 am and is filed under  News, UToday.
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