Professor Emeritus at University of Michigan

I lead the International Rehabilitation Forum, www.rehabforum.org, a not-for-profit group dedicated to building medical rehabilitation where it is missing around the world. We started the field of disaster rehab, changed WHO policy and are leading Africa's PM&R fellowship training program.

I also run Haig Physical Medicine PLC in Vermont, Haig Consulting LLC (especially a huge federal RETAIN grant on work disability), and I also an actively teach as a faculty member in University of Michigan's business school.

I thought I would be an engineer, but I was an illegal aide in an X-ray department at age 14 and saw how cool medicine was. I'm dyslexic, so I was the last person chosen into a 3-year pre-med program. I was also on acadmeic probation and had the lowest grade point average in my entering medical school class. I got into PM&R at Shirley Ryan then kept on tripping into world leaders as bosses until I got old and demented.

About every 7 years I get one of these! Academics at Vermont without a supportive orthopedic department. Hospital medicine at Thedacare in Wisconsin until I lost support. I built programs at Michigan, each with a time of crisis and change, then skipped out to Vermont because the hills are bigger and once again tripped into huge grants, global teaching, and more.

Equity (for us dyslexics, less than for people with visible disabilities) is a core value that rehab 'owns'. Other equity issues (gender, race, isolated regions) are all of our responsibility, but play out more in rehab than anywhere, as we must help these people get on with a good life. I have passionately fought for equity in our profession, for our patients, and across society (who are all our patients sometime!).

I want to retire and stare at the ducks in the lake.

But...heck, there's too much to do. I must, though, build a succession plan for the work I'm doing, because this work is bigger than me and also sometime I will be gone. So I really am looking for young leaders to push the IRF's agenda, to build the new cadre of academic leaders in the field of global rehab. to build rehab in New England (there's none...go figure why...), maybe even continue my EMG/Spine research.

All before I become a quack and belong with those ducks.

Twitter

www.rehabforum.org

www.haigmed.com

www.haigetal.com

Join with us in the IRF as we join with you in this wonderful energetic organizations!