An Interview with Terry Massagli, MD

In her role as the University of Washington Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program Director, Terry Massagli, MD has shepherded an entire generation of young residents through the training process.

How long have you been the UW PM&R Residency Program Director?

Since 1992. I’ve moved through a whole generation of residents since then. They keep getting younger.

Why do you do it?

For the money and the glamour. No, seriously, I like hanging around smart young people. I’m hoping both attributes will rub off on me. I enjoy being a teacher and mentor, developing life long relationships with the residents, and I get to boss faculty around. Not that it works, mind you.

In your opinion, what makes the University of Washington Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency program so strong?

We have depth and breadth in clinical care, diverse training sites, strong academic and local clinical faculty, and fantastic residents.

What is most unique element to the program?

Location, location, location. Close to Vancouver, Portland, mountains, water, and a great cultural and music scene.

What sets this program apart from similar residency programs?

Compared to programs like RIC and Kessler, we are integrated into acute care hospitals at each of our four training sites. Compared to Mayo, we have a regionalal level 1 trauma system, so we see a lot of trauma patients. Compared to Baylor, well, we're located in Seattle.

What steps are being taken to make this the best possible residency program?

Program evaluation is the key to our success. We take an objective look at our program elements each year and develop action plans to address them. I have been privileged to have a great working relationship with three successive Rehabilitation Medicine Department Chairs, who have all viewed the quality of our residency training program as a priority of the department.

This year, we are focusing on enhancing resident learning experiences. Residents have begun to write quarterly learning plans. We have done some faculty development on improving clinical teaching. We are reorganizing our musculoskeletal rotations to give residents more direct patient care responsibilities.

It's my understanding that Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation is becoming an increasingly competitive field. Has this influenced you to change your minimum requirements for applicants?

Only about 2.5% of US medical students apply in the field of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation each year. This really hasn’t changed much. We have always tried to identify talented and successful students to select for interviews. We do match top students. Using the USMLE scores as one measure of student competitiveness, our residents have scores more than 10 points higher than the average for Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation programs in the U.S. In fact, their scores are in the range of students matching in the incredibly competitive fields of orthopaedics, radiology and dermatology.

Could you provide a quick snapshot for us of the students who matched here this year?

We matched 10 terrific students this year, including six women and three osteopathic students. A little unusual this year is that all our students are from the Midwest, south, or east coast. Their hobbies include scuba diving, playing violin in a rock band, playing harp, participating in and watching sports, swing dancing, fishing, and for at least for one student, parenting. She had a baby girl in January.

What is the best part about being so involved with the residents?

Watching them guzzle my home brewed beer each year at my Christmas party. And my husband eats the left-overs for lunch for several months.

How do you fit it all in: clinics, professional organizations, and teaching?

My passions are education, and caring for the patient in front of me. Those come first. Everything else seems to get squeezed in. You make room for your priorities. To be a successful program director you have to be resilient and you have to have strong time management skills.

Do you have any hobbies that help you unwind?

Work mirrors life. Running the residency and raising orchids require planning, reassessment, fertilizing, and weeding. Residents and Labrador retrievers need consistency, fairness and room to run. But I do love my play time: scuba diving, traveling, playing bridge and trying out new red wines. Unfortunately, I’m terrible at bridge because it always seems to coincide with trying out those wines!

• View the archive of faculty member interviews.