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What would you say is most important besides, "where you want to practice when you're done" when selecting a fellowship program?
Pain Fellowship Reviews
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not in a malicious way, just curious from someone out in practice what you feel is the most important decision going into the match.
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Where you want to practice should be at or near the top but I wouldn’t rank a significantly worse program at the top just because of location. After that, I’m looking at volume- both clinically and procedurally. You want a wide breadth of pathology rolling in. You can crank out a ton of procedures at a spine center but if all they’re seeing is bread and butter stuff, then it’s not as useful as if the place is a regional referral center and you’re seeing all kinds of random, weird things. You want a high volume of procedures too. It’s not that the procedures are hard and you need a lot to learn how to do it. It’s again so you see the weird things and learn how to cope with not seeing anatomy that looks like it’s out of an atlas. And so you learn how to deal with the complications that will inevitably come. Just my 2 cents.
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Quick question for the powers that be, does anyone have some information on BIDMC program. Had a great time during my interview and wanted to toss out to you loved ones and see if anyone had an opinion? If anyone has any questions on Texas programs let me know
Hey guys, I am also looking for opinions on BID vs MGH vs Penn. I am from the east coast so location is a wash. Looking to go into private practice after fellowship and having a tough time ranking these three places.
Please feel free to PM. Thanks
Please feel free to PM. Thanks
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It's been about a week or so, and I still can't believe it is over. It was so painfully long. I have gotten much help from this forum, so I will try to give back. One thing I learned and echoing others from this forum is that 'bad/inadequate' pain programs are rare. Most have their own strengths/weaknesses. It should come down to your personal 'gut feeling.' However, for the purpose of this thread, I will do my best to review following programs.
I was fortunate enough to pick and choose interviews and went to >15. These are some of my personal favorites. No particular order:
Emory
1. Good procedure volume (good SCS, kyphos, but minimal pump and others).
2. Fellow emphasized that the program is oriented around fellow education. Good pacing of clinic, not overwhelming.
3. Good collegial working environment with solid faculties. Genuine PD. Pain chair was somewhat intense for me.
4. Call was every 6th week (not too overwhelming) / Not much of administrative stuff.
5. One of the fellows was PM&R grad and emphasized that faculties are patient and truly great teachers with ability to nurture non-anesthesia grads, especially for procedures. Something I was very impressed about.
BWH
1. Excellent procedure volume with great variety (dedicated OR month for advanced procedures).
2. Adequate education from attending and some peer/self-direct learning. Fast pacing of clinic, almost seeing too many (probably reason why education was somewhat lacking).
3. Great working environment (fellows/attendings). Nicest PD. Supportive Chair.
4. Call (fellows liked their call, since you get to do extra surgical cases but could be long hours)
5. It still seemed to be the best/most comprehensive pain program out there in my opinion.
Dartmouth
1. Good procedure volume with adequate variety (good SCS, minimal pump, some US guided procedures).
2. Education oriented w/ lots of flexibility (I think they were implementing one half administrative/research day per week for fellows). Good pacing of clinic, not overwhelming.
3. Fellows appreciated great collegial working environment (fellows/attendings). Solid PD. Chair is an odd ball but nice.
4. Call (minimal w/ no acute pain management)/ Administrative stuff (minimal).
5. Program is in the smallest town and fellows seemed extremely happy to be there. Must say something about the program.
UCSD
1. Great procedure volume with great variety (advanced procedures +US exposure, only place where fellows got PRP exposure).
2. Fellows seemed to be happy with their education (except basic science pain lectures, which fellows seemed not overtly excited about). Somewhat fast pacing of clinic.
3. Good and laid back working environment (fellows/attendings). PD is a straight-shooter. Nicest Chair.
4. Fellows said call is mostly good/chill but could be challenging at times.
5. I interviewed at all the Californian programs, and UCSD seemed to be best (not to mention that it also is in La Jolla!).
Mayo-Rochester
1. Excellent procedure volume with great variety (+great US exposure).
2. Education is their top priority (even had focused reading materials + short clips of video explaining all the different procedures). Good pacing of clinic.
3. Good working environment (fellows/attendings). Solid PD. Didn't get to meet the chair.
4. Call (?seemed okay but wasn't sure).
5. If this program was at somewhere other than Rochester, then it would have been considered one of best, if not the best, program in the nation.
UCSF
1. Good procedure volume (adequate SCS, minimal pump). Per fellows, seemed to be improving year by year.
2. Education was great. All the faculties seemed genuinely interested in fellow education. Good pacing of clinic.
3. Good family-like working environment (fellows/staffs/attendings). Nice PD and Chair.
4. Call (?seemed okay but don't remember the detail).
5. The program is turning around with good faculty and support. They are moving to new location and expanding (enough volume to add another fellow spot this year). I think this program is one to look out for in the future.
UPENN
1. Good procedure volume (great SCS, but minimal pump)
2. Education is great. Interviewing faculties took pride in their role as mentors for the fellows.
3. Young faculties with laid-back environment. Solid PD and got to meet anesthesiology Chair who was excited about pain medicine.
4. Call (don't remember much. It was towards the end of my interview trail)
5. One recent graduate said he would do it again at Penn 'in a heart beat.' This program definitely turned its corner and possibly on the way to get close to neighboring Harvard programs.
Cornell/MSK/HSS
1. Good procedure volume with good variety.
2. Education is good (except they kept talking about improving experience at HSS, which led me to thinking that there may be some serious issue there)
3. Great faculties from all three world renowned hospitals. Solid and one of nicest PD. Didn't get to meet Chair.
4. Call (Again, don't remember too much).
5. Attendings seemed a bit too East-coastish for me. Otherwise, it still is the best program in NYC.
UVA
1. Great procedure volume with good variety.
2. Education is excellent. Good pacing of clinic. Minimal administrative work. (They even had medical scribers for the fellows, so they could focus on taking history/ performing physical exam).
3. Probably the nicest group of faculty I ever seen in a department. Truly a family and collegial environment. Had lunch with interviewing faculties, and I still felt very comfortable around them.
4. Call (?minimal I believe. Again don't remember much).
5. I have no doubt you will get great education here and probably make some life-long friends in the field. One of best programs for sure.
Hope this helps! Be patient. It is a looooong and tiring journey, but it definitely is worthy once you finally match. Good luck to you guys next year.
I was fortunate enough to pick and choose interviews and went to >15. These are some of my personal favorites. No particular order:
Emory
1. Good procedure volume (good SCS, kyphos, but minimal pump and others).
2. Fellow emphasized that the program is oriented around fellow education. Good pacing of clinic, not overwhelming.
3. Good collegial working environment with solid faculties. Genuine PD. Pain chair was somewhat intense for me.
4. Call was every 6th week (not too overwhelming) / Not much of administrative stuff.
5. One of the fellows was PM&R grad and emphasized that faculties are patient and truly great teachers with ability to nurture non-anesthesia grads, especially for procedures. Something I was very impressed about.
BWH
1. Excellent procedure volume with great variety (dedicated OR month for advanced procedures).
2. Adequate education from attending and some peer/self-direct learning. Fast pacing of clinic, almost seeing too many (probably reason why education was somewhat lacking).
3. Great working environment (fellows/attendings). Nicest PD. Supportive Chair.
4. Call (fellows liked their call, since you get to do extra surgical cases but could be long hours)
5. It still seemed to be the best/most comprehensive pain program out there in my opinion.
Dartmouth
1. Good procedure volume with adequate variety (good SCS, minimal pump, some US guided procedures).
2. Education oriented w/ lots of flexibility (I think they were implementing one half administrative/research day per week for fellows). Good pacing of clinic, not overwhelming.
3. Fellows appreciated great collegial working environment (fellows/attendings). Solid PD. Chair is an odd ball but nice.
4. Call (minimal w/ no acute pain management)/ Administrative stuff (minimal).
5. Program is in the smallest town and fellows seemed extremely happy to be there. Must say something about the program.
UCSD
1. Great procedure volume with great variety (advanced procedures +US exposure, only place where fellows got PRP exposure).
2. Fellows seemed to be happy with their education (except basic science pain lectures, which fellows seemed not overtly excited about). Somewhat fast pacing of clinic.
3. Good and laid back working environment (fellows/attendings). PD is a straight-shooter. Nicest Chair.
4. Fellows said call is mostly good/chill but could be challenging at times.
5. I interviewed at all the Californian programs, and UCSD seemed to be best (not to mention that it also is in La Jolla!).
Mayo-Rochester
1. Excellent procedure volume with great variety (+great US exposure).
2. Education is their top priority (even had focused reading materials + short clips of video explaining all the different procedures). Good pacing of clinic.
3. Good working environment (fellows/attendings). Solid PD. Didn't get to meet the chair.
4. Call (?seemed okay but wasn't sure).
5. If this program was at somewhere other than Rochester, then it would have been considered one of best, if not the best, program in the nation.
UCSF
1. Good procedure volume (adequate SCS, minimal pump). Per fellows, seemed to be improving year by year.
2. Education was great. All the faculties seemed genuinely interested in fellow education. Good pacing of clinic.
3. Good family-like working environment (fellows/staffs/attendings). Nice PD and Chair.
4. Call (?seemed okay but don't remember the detail).
5. The program is turning around with good faculty and support. They are moving to new location and expanding (enough volume to add another fellow spot this year). I think this program is one to look out for in the future.
UPENN
1. Good procedure volume (great SCS, but minimal pump)
2. Education is great. Interviewing faculties took pride in their role as mentors for the fellows.
3. Young faculties with laid-back environment. Solid PD and got to meet anesthesiology Chair who was excited about pain medicine.
4. Call (don't remember much. It was towards the end of my interview trail)
5. One recent graduate said he would do it again at Penn 'in a heart beat.' This program definitely turned its corner and possibly on the way to get close to neighboring Harvard programs.
Cornell/MSK/HSS
1. Good procedure volume with good variety.
2. Education is good (except they kept talking about improving experience at HSS, which led me to thinking that there may be some serious issue there)
3. Great faculties from all three world renowned hospitals. Solid and one of nicest PD. Didn't get to meet Chair.
4. Call (Again, don't remember too much).
5. Attendings seemed a bit too East-coastish for me. Otherwise, it still is the best program in NYC.
UVA
1. Great procedure volume with good variety.
2. Education is excellent. Good pacing of clinic. Minimal administrative work. (They even had medical scribers for the fellows, so they could focus on taking history/ performing physical exam).
3. Probably the nicest group of faculty I ever seen in a department. Truly a family and collegial environment. Had lunch with interviewing faculties, and I still felt very comfortable around them.
4. Call (?minimal I believe. Again don't remember much).
5. I have no doubt you will get great education here and probably make some life-long friends in the field. One of best programs for sure.
Hope this helps! Be patient. It is a looooong and tiring journey, but it definitely is worthy once you finally match. Good luck to you guys next year.
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Here are my impressions about the programs I interviewed at. This is a very rough outline of the programs as I don’t remember every detail.
UCSF-The program with the least amount of scut work. Acute pain call is almost non existent, the attendings are all very nice, good interventional experience, the fellows get great jobs after, they send you to all the major courses and they allow moonlighting for us Anesthesia folks. Dr. Poree is very into neuromodulation so you will get great training in this. The clinic is efficient and doesn’t require residents to run which is key to any good fellowship program. They are building a new pain clinic which will be a much needed upgrade considering the existing facilities. Cons-which may be others pros- not a lot of craniofacial experience, not research heavy, not truly multidisciplinary, cost of living in SF(they do give a housing stipend).
UPenn-. They have a well run, efficient clinic, with a young energetic faculty. The PD- Ashburn- seems very passionate about the program and dedicated to making it a great learning environment, due to its proximity to DC their is an opportunity to get involved with opioid policy, Dr. Fleisher-the Chair is very supportive of the pain department. The clinic does not need fellows to run, Acute pain call is very manageable, Philadelphia is an up and coming city with good proximity to D.C, NY and has a low cost of living. Some of the Cons; they don’t send their fellows to courses, no established moonlighting, not research heavy, not as interventional as other programs.
Cedars Sinai: Dr. Rosner is a very supportive PD and has been with the program for a long time. They run an efficient, busy clinic that is probably a little more fellow dependent than the previously mentioned programs. They have good numbers with regard to procedures and will send you to any course. I only met two of the attendings so hard to generalize about the faculty, acute pain coverage was very manageable. The biggest con in my opinion is the forced Anesthesia call. This includes covering the OR after hours and carrying the airway pager. This only occurs a handful of times a month and the positive is that you get paid for this extra work. On the flip side one year is very little time to learn the basics of pain management and this may be a distractor. I see the benefit of forcing you to maintain your Anesthesia skills however most people who endup in pain have no desire to do Anesthesia and if they do can always moonlight on their own volition. Another downside may be the fact that it is Cedars and you can get some high profile, entitled patients. Los Angeles is an expensive city, terrible traffic however you trade that off for great weather and tons to do.
Mt. Sinai: I ended up liking this program far more than I expected and they prob have my favorite faculty. They were all young, energetic and down to earth. The clinic is very efficient, well run, non fellow dependent. Its a large program so you have support in numbers and if you have any issues can find coverage easily. The acute pain coverage is pretty typical and nothing too burdensome, good craniofacial training. Since Mt. Sinai is a part of Continuum Health they have one of the largest patient populations out of the NY based programs. They have good didactics, an established moonlighting gig and send you to the courses. The only major con IMO was the cost of living in NY. Even though Mt. Sinai is upper East side to live in any decent area if you have a family will cost $3K+. Other than that it should definitely be considered if you want to be in the North East.
UC Irvine: This was my first interview so I walked away with a generally favorable impression. However after reflecting on it at the end of the season there were some things that were concerning. This included a very busy fellow dependent clinic, long hours, and the fellows didn’t seem very happy. I was not a fan of the mixture of procedures and clinic. In fact, I spoke with a current fellow who said that this setup leads to major inefficiencies. Another downside is that there isn’t any established moonlighting gigs. On the flip side, the faculty were young, energetic and down to earth. They have pedi pain which is unique to pain programs, training in the business aspects of pain management and have good headache training. Acute pain call is very easy, Newport Beach is an awesome place to live with a good patient demographic. Additionally, if you want to stay in OC after training they seemed to have a good alumni network in the area.
Stanford: I was really hoping to like this program as it has a great name and is close to my family. I walked away a little disenchanted. This program is by far and away the most multidisciplinary of any program I interviewed at. The resources and support staff are unrivaled. The research enterprise is second to none and the facilities were superb. My biggest issue with the program was the “vibe” I got. They seemed very snooty, unapproachable and very formal. I couldn’t envision grabbing a beer with any of the attendings after work. Additionally, the fellows all seemed very uptight and proper, they didn’t truly seem happy. Their interventional numbers are on the rise however being so multidisciplinary procedures are not their focus. They are very academic and do not operate like a PP so if thats your focus look elsewhere. The acute pain coverage and inpatient chronic pain coverage seem grueling. Even the fellows admitted that it was tough. This was the only program I interviewed at where moonlighting is forbidden however the pay is 80+ so that helps. Its hard to fault such a well structured and rigorous program such as this but it just didn’t fit my personality and as a result ended up ranking it last.
Oregon Health and Sciences University: I ended up getting this interview late in the season and almost turned it down. Glad I didn’t as it ended up being one of my favorite programs. I was shocked to find out that they only interview 1-2 people per day which made sense considering the amount of interview days they have. This made for a very personal, genuine experience. Everyone is so friendly at this program, which fits the character of Portland in general. OHSU has a good blend of all the programs I interviewed at. It had the clinic facilities of Stanford, young energetic faculty, great didactics, a non fellow dependent clinic, high procedural numbers(even in exotic blocks), they send you to all the courses, well established moonlighting at the eye hospital, awesome city with low cost of living and a hospital with some of the best views in town. The only major downside was the acute pain call. Its 8 weeks out of the year and sounds like it can be a little tiring at times. On the flip side its Friday-friday and you get the following Monday off. Additionally if you are called into the hospital you have 10hours of protected time before you need to go back. The fellows didn’t seem overly upset about the call and it sounds like the faculty is working to make it less burdensome. But for the time being I saw it as a small price to pay to attend such a great program.
UCSF-The program with the least amount of scut work. Acute pain call is almost non existent, the attendings are all very nice, good interventional experience, the fellows get great jobs after, they send you to all the major courses and they allow moonlighting for us Anesthesia folks. Dr. Poree is very into neuromodulation so you will get great training in this. The clinic is efficient and doesn’t require residents to run which is key to any good fellowship program. They are building a new pain clinic which will be a much needed upgrade considering the existing facilities. Cons-which may be others pros- not a lot of craniofacial experience, not research heavy, not truly multidisciplinary, cost of living in SF(they do give a housing stipend).
UPenn-. They have a well run, efficient clinic, with a young energetic faculty. The PD- Ashburn- seems very passionate about the program and dedicated to making it a great learning environment, due to its proximity to DC their is an opportunity to get involved with opioid policy, Dr. Fleisher-the Chair is very supportive of the pain department. The clinic does not need fellows to run, Acute pain call is very manageable, Philadelphia is an up and coming city with good proximity to D.C, NY and has a low cost of living. Some of the Cons; they don’t send their fellows to courses, no established moonlighting, not research heavy, not as interventional as other programs.
Cedars Sinai: Dr. Rosner is a very supportive PD and has been with the program for a long time. They run an efficient, busy clinic that is probably a little more fellow dependent than the previously mentioned programs. They have good numbers with regard to procedures and will send you to any course. I only met two of the attendings so hard to generalize about the faculty, acute pain coverage was very manageable. The biggest con in my opinion is the forced Anesthesia call. This includes covering the OR after hours and carrying the airway pager. This only occurs a handful of times a month and the positive is that you get paid for this extra work. On the flip side one year is very little time to learn the basics of pain management and this may be a distractor. I see the benefit of forcing you to maintain your Anesthesia skills however most people who endup in pain have no desire to do Anesthesia and if they do can always moonlight on their own volition. Another downside may be the fact that it is Cedars and you can get some high profile, entitled patients. Los Angeles is an expensive city, terrible traffic however you trade that off for great weather and tons to do.
Mt. Sinai: I ended up liking this program far more than I expected and they prob have my favorite faculty. They were all young, energetic and down to earth. The clinic is very efficient, well run, non fellow dependent. Its a large program so you have support in numbers and if you have any issues can find coverage easily. The acute pain coverage is pretty typical and nothing too burdensome, good craniofacial training. Since Mt. Sinai is a part of Continuum Health they have one of the largest patient populations out of the NY based programs. They have good didactics, an established moonlighting gig and send you to the courses. The only major con IMO was the cost of living in NY. Even though Mt. Sinai is upper East side to live in any decent area if you have a family will cost $3K+. Other than that it should definitely be considered if you want to be in the North East.
UC Irvine: This was my first interview so I walked away with a generally favorable impression. However after reflecting on it at the end of the season there were some things that were concerning. This included a very busy fellow dependent clinic, long hours, and the fellows didn’t seem very happy. I was not a fan of the mixture of procedures and clinic. In fact, I spoke with a current fellow who said that this setup leads to major inefficiencies. Another downside is that there isn’t any established moonlighting gigs. On the flip side, the faculty were young, energetic and down to earth. They have pedi pain which is unique to pain programs, training in the business aspects of pain management and have good headache training. Acute pain call is very easy, Newport Beach is an awesome place to live with a good patient demographic. Additionally, if you want to stay in OC after training they seemed to have a good alumni network in the area.
Stanford: I was really hoping to like this program as it has a great name and is close to my family. I walked away a little disenchanted. This program is by far and away the most multidisciplinary of any program I interviewed at. The resources and support staff are unrivaled. The research enterprise is second to none and the facilities were superb. My biggest issue with the program was the “vibe” I got. They seemed very snooty, unapproachable and very formal. I couldn’t envision grabbing a beer with any of the attendings after work. Additionally, the fellows all seemed very uptight and proper, they didn’t truly seem happy. Their interventional numbers are on the rise however being so multidisciplinary procedures are not their focus. They are very academic and do not operate like a PP so if thats your focus look elsewhere. The acute pain coverage and inpatient chronic pain coverage seem grueling. Even the fellows admitted that it was tough. This was the only program I interviewed at where moonlighting is forbidden however the pay is 80+ so that helps. Its hard to fault such a well structured and rigorous program such as this but it just didn’t fit my personality and as a result ended up ranking it last.
Oregon Health and Sciences University: I ended up getting this interview late in the season and almost turned it down. Glad I didn’t as it ended up being one of my favorite programs. I was shocked to find out that they only interview 1-2 people per day which made sense considering the amount of interview days they have. This made for a very personal, genuine experience. Everyone is so friendly at this program, which fits the character of Portland in general. OHSU has a good blend of all the programs I interviewed at. It had the clinic facilities of Stanford, young energetic faculty, great didactics, a non fellow dependent clinic, high procedural numbers(even in exotic blocks), they send you to all the courses, well established moonlighting at the eye hospital, awesome city with low cost of living and a hospital with some of the best views in town. The only major downside was the acute pain call. Its 8 weeks out of the year and sounds like it can be a little tiring at times. On the flip side its Friday-friday and you get the following Monday off. Additionally if you are called into the hospital you have 10hours of protected time before you need to go back. The fellows didn’t seem overly upset about the call and it sounds like the faculty is working to make it less burdensome. But for the time being I saw it as a small price to pay to attend such a great program.
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Agree with most, especially your review on Stanford is right on point. That was only interview that I truly wanted to like and almost considered not ranking them in the end. I have met 3-4 other people who interviewed there had same exact impression. It felt like military camp and fellows seemed afraid to talk frankly about the program. For few questions regarding negatives about the program, I saw them looking at each other and one fellow stopped and corrected himself twice (as if they were videotaped or something). On the other hand, I agree that it is a good program with comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to pain management.
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Hey all, I have always found these reviews interesting and helpful. So to help out future pain applicants I'll review some of the programs I interviewed at. However, a little bit about me. DO PMR applicant, fairly good pmr program (at least I think so haha), average to slightly above average Step 1 and two both comlex and usmle, average SAE/ITE, some research but nothing ground breaking. I got 9 interviews and went on 9 and ranked 9. Honestly I would have been great with 8 of nine programs. Even the one program I didn't like was only one year so I wasn't concerned. When it came to ranking I'm something of a simpleton. I primarily looked at procedural volume and didactics. It seemed to me that some programs were 'balanced' with regard to injections and teaching while others were more like a pp where interventions were heavily utilized. Just remember that programs can have fantastic teaching and numbers. Also, I'm doing this off the top of my head and plan to write until I get tired so info may be incomplete or completely accurate - I will do my best though. In no particular order here are the programs:
UC Davis: probably the most didactically robust program I interviewed at. Fellows start in August i believe and they undergo something of a 'pain boot camp' where there are several hours of lectures daily catching all the fellows up and getting everyone on the same page. They discuss interesting cases with other academic programs across the US. The fellows seem very happy all stating that they would go there again, one told me he thought it was the best program in the country for what that is worth. Numbers seems medium to on slightly lower side from what I could tell, this was mitigated by quality over quantity where the fellows were able to discuss exactly what they were seeing and how to optimize the image quality. No rad tech at this program and I believe all the fellows obtained a rad tech license. PD was a great person from what I could tell, very organized and with a clear vision for the program. Its in Sacramento which is very nice too. Traffic could be an issue sometimes. Fellows were busy but not stressed during their year. 4 fellows I think.
Minnesota: PMR based program but they say they 'rank them how they like them' or something to that effect. I really liked this program, great mixture of procedures and clinic. PD is UC Davis grad and it shows with regard to didactics. Not as heavy as Davis but quite robust. Longitudinal course which culminated in a Grand Rounds presentation to the anesthesia? department. They work with you on timing, your slides, and subject matter. This could be a negative for some but I thought it was nice. Fellows were very happy, hours were great, and there was a lucrative IPR moonlighting for PMR folks there. Minneapolis was actually a very fun city although it is in Minnesota so, you know, winters suck. I think there were four fellows. Most of your time is at the VA.
LSU: PMR based program, I think they only accept PMR residents but can't say definitely. Quite interventional with very soft didactics. Fellows seemed very happy to be there. They pull strongly from their internal applicant pool it seems so while there are 4-5 spots likely if you are not from there you are competing for 1-2 spots. PD is very nice and personable. NO is one of the coolest cities in the country IMO so one year there would be great. Most of your time is at the VA which is a new billion dollar facility.
Dartmouth: Another great program, seemed like there was great interventional exposure and great didactics. Lots of board review over the year. PD was nice. He was a prior PP guy and he gives lectures about how to set up a PP and get referrals in a competitive atmosphere which I thought was pretty cool. Facility is somewhat dated but I heard they are planning on remodeling. Not a ton of SCS but they told me that would likely change soon. 4 fellows a year who all got along great, at least one is staying on as faculty. With regard to the city I had never been before the interview and when people say it is in the middle of nowhere they are not kidding. I think it was a 2 hour bus ride from boston. Beautiful area if you like the outdoors but if you are more a city person this could be a poor fit geographically.
Iowa: I really liked this program, robust didactics and above average interventional exposure. The didactics are "theme of the month" and they have regular journal club etc. Four fellows each year and they seemed quite happy. They have a great support staff, I remember meeting a pharmacist, psychologist, and a faculty member who was a psychiatrist that did a pain fellowship and a pediatric pain fellowship which was interesting. PD was very nice as well. Iowa city is a pretty small ~100k and it is in the midwest which might be an issue for people.
And I'm officially gasses. Hope this helps. As I said above I would have been thrilled to have matched to all these programs. Good luck
UC Davis: probably the most didactically robust program I interviewed at. Fellows start in August i believe and they undergo something of a 'pain boot camp' where there are several hours of lectures daily catching all the fellows up and getting everyone on the same page. They discuss interesting cases with other academic programs across the US. The fellows seem very happy all stating that they would go there again, one told me he thought it was the best program in the country for what that is worth. Numbers seems medium to on slightly lower side from what I could tell, this was mitigated by quality over quantity where the fellows were able to discuss exactly what they were seeing and how to optimize the image quality. No rad tech at this program and I believe all the fellows obtained a rad tech license. PD was a great person from what I could tell, very organized and with a clear vision for the program. Its in Sacramento which is very nice too. Traffic could be an issue sometimes. Fellows were busy but not stressed during their year. 4 fellows I think.
Minnesota: PMR based program but they say they 'rank them how they like them' or something to that effect. I really liked this program, great mixture of procedures and clinic. PD is UC Davis grad and it shows with regard to didactics. Not as heavy as Davis but quite robust. Longitudinal course which culminated in a Grand Rounds presentation to the anesthesia? department. They work with you on timing, your slides, and subject matter. This could be a negative for some but I thought it was nice. Fellows were very happy, hours were great, and there was a lucrative IPR moonlighting for PMR folks there. Minneapolis was actually a very fun city although it is in Minnesota so, you know, winters suck. I think there were four fellows. Most of your time is at the VA.
LSU: PMR based program, I think they only accept PMR residents but can't say definitely. Quite interventional with very soft didactics. Fellows seemed very happy to be there. They pull strongly from their internal applicant pool it seems so while there are 4-5 spots likely if you are not from there you are competing for 1-2 spots. PD is very nice and personable. NO is one of the coolest cities in the country IMO so one year there would be great. Most of your time is at the VA which is a new billion dollar facility.
Dartmouth: Another great program, seemed like there was great interventional exposure and great didactics. Lots of board review over the year. PD was nice. He was a prior PP guy and he gives lectures about how to set up a PP and get referrals in a competitive atmosphere which I thought was pretty cool. Facility is somewhat dated but I heard they are planning on remodeling. Not a ton of SCS but they told me that would likely change soon. 4 fellows a year who all got along great, at least one is staying on as faculty. With regard to the city I had never been before the interview and when people say it is in the middle of nowhere they are not kidding. I think it was a 2 hour bus ride from boston. Beautiful area if you like the outdoors but if you are more a city person this could be a poor fit geographically.
Iowa: I really liked this program, robust didactics and above average interventional exposure. The didactics are "theme of the month" and they have regular journal club etc. Four fellows each year and they seemed quite happy. They have a great support staff, I remember meeting a pharmacist, psychologist, and a faculty member who was a psychiatrist that did a pain fellowship and a pediatric pain fellowship which was interesting. PD was very nice as well. Iowa city is a pretty small ~100k and it is in the midwest which might be an issue for people.
And I'm officially gasses. Hope this helps. As I said above I would have been thrilled to have matched to all these programs. Good luck
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any reviews about the University of New Mexico program?
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Any insights on UK pain fellowships?
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Any information about University of Miami? I am a PM&R applicant, so wondering if they take outside of GAS. Otherwise, # of fellows, overall impression of program, strengths/weaknesses, etc..? Thanks all. (nothing recent on SDN or Freida)
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Much to learn you still have, old padawan...
https://health.usnews.com/doctors/michelle-francavilla-709431
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Was primarily looking for some insight regarding the actual program. Someone who interviewed there, rotated there, did/doing fellowship there that could share their impression. Thanks for the link.
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The reviews above are from last season. That covers at least three of those on your list. PM for any other questions you have on UC Irvine, Sinai and Oregon.
Graduating Fellow Review of UCSD
Program Leadership
Chair: Dr. Mark Wallace - extremely knowledgeable and helpful in terms of all aspects of the field of pain medicine. Very well known in the field and has experience in all aspects of pain medicine. If you can think of it, he has done it. He is very approachable and down to earth. Has monthly fellow meetings to discuss medical-legal cases and impart other tid-bits of knowledge not taught in the text books.
Program Director and Assistant Program Director:
Dr. Tim Furnish and Dr. Jeff Chen- both consider you a colleague from day one. Extremely supportive, collegial, and great senses of humor. Really care about fellow's well-being. They help the year be as useful as possible for the fellows and try to help it be tailored to each fellows individual goals.
Headache-Boarded Neurologists (2), PM&R (2), - Dr. Lerman and Dr. Schuster are both double boarded in headache and pain and are a wealth of information regarding headache education and management. Dr. Chen and Dr. Reddy are active in regenerative medicine and neuromodulation research
There is not a faculty member who is abrasive or difficult to work with. Based on the diversity of their training and personalities, there are different procedural and clinic styles which is ideal for a fellow to pick and choose what they like and don't like to mold their own clinical practice.
Research and Basic Science Course
One of the most impressive qualities of the attendings are that all of them are doing active research to push the field of pain medicine further. Fellows have the opportunity to get involved in research at every level from book chapters, case reports, case series, to all level of clinical trials and basic science. Multiple publications are possible in the year and there are four one week blocks dedicated to research time. Dr. Tony Yaksh and Dr. Chakravarthy also run the basic science course that runs weekly during the fall. It has been revamped and is attended by both pain fellows and graduate students interested in pain research which allows for idea sharing for research and networking early on in the year. Dr. Yaksh has been involved in many of the basic science studies that are at the foundation of how pain medicine is practiced today. All of the faculty, young or old, have a passion for fostering clinical creativity in the fellows who want to pursue research.
Variety of Procedures
-Bread and Butter (ILESI, TFESI, pRF, RFA, Sympathetic (Stellate, Celiac, Lumbar Symathetic, and Superior Hyogastric) Blocks, Peripheral Joint, Nerve, Tendon Injections (US and Fluoro-guided depending on attending)
-Headache/Facial Pain (Gasserian, Sphenopalatine, Trigeminal Branch Blocks, GONB, LONB)
-Sports/Regenerative Medicine (Tenex, PRP, BMAC, Adipose-derived Stem Cells)
-Neuromodulation (SCS (Abbott, Boston, Medtronic, and Nevro (alphabetical)), DRG stimulation, and Peripheral Stim (Bioness and Sprint). This access to all the major companies allows fellows to learn how to interact with industry and reps as well.
-Intrathecal Therapy: Growing pump program
-Other: MILD and Vertiflex, US-guided stellate injections for refractory vtach in the ICU
-Non-invasive neuromodulation - Transcranial and Transcutaneous Magnetic Stimulation Clinic at VA
-Augmentation: kypho exposure through orthopedics if desired
-Medical Cannabis Evaluation and Management
I know people ask about stim numbers at interviews, with two months to go, the fellows have each done between 25- 35 stim cases (about half trials and half implants give or take a few)
Education
-Basic science pain course with Dr. Yaksh and Dr. Chakravarthy
-Weekly lectures in the morning before grand rounds
-Bimonthly board review questions with Dr. Furnish and Dr. Reddy
-Monthly Medical legal cases with Dr. Wallace
-Quarterly journal club at attending's houses
-Monthly ultrasound sessions in the morning with Dr. Lerman
-UCSD Cadaver Course early on in the year followed by 4-5+ cadaver courses throughout the year. San Diego is typically a destination for conferences and courses, so fellows typically get good access to these.
Call
-Call is home call for a week and divided among the fellows. The responsibilities include running the chronic pain inpatient service. At UCSD, there is a separate acute/regional pain team so there is not a lot of exposure to epidural management, but invariably there will be a few throughout the year. The typical week consists of rounding on the patients in the morning with the resident before clinic or procedures and seeing new consults throughout the day, after work, or the next morning depending on the individual patient and consulting teams needs. These weeks are typically pretty busy but are good training in time management, especially if you plan to do private practice after fellowship.
The year is busy and flies by. The faculty really make the learning experience enjoyable. I have really enjoyed my year and the relationships i have made with my co-fellows and attendings alike. If you have any questions regarding my experience, please do not hesitate to message me.
Program Leadership
Chair: Dr. Mark Wallace - extremely knowledgeable and helpful in terms of all aspects of the field of pain medicine. Very well known in the field and has experience in all aspects of pain medicine. If you can think of it, he has done it. He is very approachable and down to earth. Has monthly fellow meetings to discuss medical-legal cases and impart other tid-bits of knowledge not taught in the text books.
Program Director and Assistant Program Director:
Dr. Tim Furnish and Dr. Jeff Chen- both consider you a colleague from day one. Extremely supportive, collegial, and great senses of humor. Really care about fellow's well-being. They help the year be as useful as possible for the fellows and try to help it be tailored to each fellows individual goals.
Headache-Boarded Neurologists (2), PM&R (2), - Dr. Lerman and Dr. Schuster are both double boarded in headache and pain and are a wealth of information regarding headache education and management. Dr. Chen and Dr. Reddy are active in regenerative medicine and neuromodulation research
There is not a faculty member who is abrasive or difficult to work with. Based on the diversity of their training and personalities, there are different procedural and clinic styles which is ideal for a fellow to pick and choose what they like and don't like to mold their own clinical practice.
Research and Basic Science Course
One of the most impressive qualities of the attendings are that all of them are doing active research to push the field of pain medicine further. Fellows have the opportunity to get involved in research at every level from book chapters, case reports, case series, to all level of clinical trials and basic science. Multiple publications are possible in the year and there are four one week blocks dedicated to research time. Dr. Tony Yaksh and Dr. Chakravarthy also run the basic science course that runs weekly during the fall. It has been revamped and is attended by both pain fellows and graduate students interested in pain research which allows for idea sharing for research and networking early on in the year. Dr. Yaksh has been involved in many of the basic science studies that are at the foundation of how pain medicine is practiced today. All of the faculty, young or old, have a passion for fostering clinical creativity in the fellows who want to pursue research.
Variety of Procedures
-Bread and Butter (ILESI, TFESI, pRF, RFA, Sympathetic (Stellate, Celiac, Lumbar Symathetic, and Superior Hyogastric) Blocks, Peripheral Joint, Nerve, Tendon Injections (US and Fluoro-guided depending on attending)
-Headache/Facial Pain (Gasserian, Sphenopalatine, Trigeminal Branch Blocks, GONB, LONB)
-Sports/Regenerative Medicine (Tenex, PRP, BMAC, Adipose-derived Stem Cells)
-Neuromodulation (SCS (Abbott, Boston, Medtronic, and Nevro (alphabetical)), DRG stimulation, and Peripheral Stim (Bioness and Sprint). This access to all the major companies allows fellows to learn how to interact with industry and reps as well.
-Intrathecal Therapy: Growing pump program
-Other: MILD and Vertiflex, US-guided stellate injections for refractory vtach in the ICU
-Non-invasive neuromodulation - Transcranial and Transcutaneous Magnetic Stimulation Clinic at VA
-Augmentation: kypho exposure through orthopedics if desired
-Medical Cannabis Evaluation and Management
I know people ask about stim numbers at interviews, with two months to go, the fellows have each done between 25- 35 stim cases (about half trials and half implants give or take a few)
Education
-Basic science pain course with Dr. Yaksh and Dr. Chakravarthy
-Weekly lectures in the morning before grand rounds
-Bimonthly board review questions with Dr. Furnish and Dr. Reddy
-Monthly Medical legal cases with Dr. Wallace
-Quarterly journal club at attending's houses
-Monthly ultrasound sessions in the morning with Dr. Lerman
-UCSD Cadaver Course early on in the year followed by 4-5+ cadaver courses throughout the year. San Diego is typically a destination for conferences and courses, so fellows typically get good access to these.
Call
-Call is home call for a week and divided among the fellows. The responsibilities include running the chronic pain inpatient service. At UCSD, there is a separate acute/regional pain team so there is not a lot of exposure to epidural management, but invariably there will be a few throughout the year. The typical week consists of rounding on the patients in the morning with the resident before clinic or procedures and seeing new consults throughout the day, after work, or the next morning depending on the individual patient and consulting teams needs. These weeks are typically pretty busy but are good training in time management, especially if you plan to do private practice after fellowship.
The year is busy and flies by. The faculty really make the learning experience enjoyable. I have really enjoyed my year and the relationships i have made with my co-fellows and attendings alike. If you have any questions regarding my experience, please do not hesitate to message me.
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Wow wasnt aware that Cornell had to compete with HSS for procedure. Hss pain fellows or msk radiology fellows for procedures?
Bwh seems to always get really solid reviews on this forum.
Have not seen much information in regard to Vanderbilt and saw a nice review of UCSD above. Figured I’d throw in my input of our program.
Graduating Fellow Review of Vanderbilt
Overall, I have felt very fortunate to be a fellow at this institution and believe that training here is one of the best in the country.
Leadership
Chair: Dr. David Edwards
Extremely smart and knowledgeable. Very research oriented, but very obviously appreciates the importance of clinical work and those who prefer this route. Significant and continued growth of clinical volume under his leadership. Takes fellows to Titans football games (front row seats) and Predators games throughout the year.
Program Director: Dr. Christopher Sobey
Very approachable and clinically excellent. Both are very dedicated to producing the best possible fellows as representatives of Vanderbilt (especially clinically), not allowing fellows time to be wasted on scut work or non-educational activities. They are dedicated to ensuring fellows work hard, but not an excessive number of hours (generally 50-60 hours per week).
Anesthesia, PM&R, and Neurosurgeons on pain faculty.
There are NO malignant faculty and everybody (including staff) are very friendly. The program manager is a gem.
Procedures
Clinical volume, especially procedural volume, is one of Vanderbilt’s greatest strengths. There is a huge variety of fluoroscopic, ultrasound-guided, blind, and even intermittent CT-guided procedures. Fellows spend about 60% of their time doing procedures, which is usually between 20-25 procedures a day. As for advanced procedures, fellows typically do between 20-40+ SCS implants (and about as many trials), as well as other procedures including IT pumps, DRGs, kyphoplasty, interspinous spacers, and peripheral nerve stimulators. Notably, Abbott came to Vanderbilt this year to train all fellows and attendings (who hadn’t already done the training) on DRG, which they had never done at a University before.
Education
-3x weekly lectures 7-8 in the morning
-Weekly grand rounds
-Quarterly journal clubs over dinner at restaurants (very nice, with ETOH)
-Lots of ad hoc teaching
-Board Review
Research
Several faculty are heavily involved in research. Fellows are encouraged, but not required to participate in research projects. Fellows are encouraged, but not required, to present at one conference during fellowship and/or write a book chapter and/or write journal article.
Rotations
Fellows rotate with spine neuroradiology, spine surgery, addiction psychiatry, PM&R, and others. There are a number of other electives you can choose to do (e.g., integrative medicine), which can essentially be anything you would like to do. Many choose to rotate at private practices where they would like to work or for an “outside of Vanderbilt” experience.
Schedule
Clinic
Monday through Friday
0700 Lecture
0800 - 1530/1600 procedure days vs. consult days
Average 3-3.5 procedure days and 1.5-2 consult days a week
Average 20-25 procedures a day
No charting after work hours, no call, usually out by 1600-1630
Inpatient chronic pain service (CPS)
Currently 1 week every 5-6 weeks, will be less with the addition of extra fellow
Acute pain fellows take the extra weeks
Round on Saturday for 1 hour, no rounds on Sunday
Census usually 4-10 patients
Team consists of fellow, resident/intern, attending and soon to be NP (in process of hiring). Number on service varies by day.
Consult service only, separate acute pain service.
Hours: 800-1530
CPS fellow does all in-hospital implants
Wednesday and Friday Cancer pain clinic for 1/2 day - typically 4-8 patients
Call
Home call
Only on inpatient chronic pain service
Rarely get called after work hours, usually new RN mistaking us as primary team
Out of 4 fellows, only 2 had to go in once each after-hours, this was due to an emergency (infected device)
Call is for the inpatient chronic pain service, which is run by the fellows, and is divided among the pain medicine fellows and the acute pain/regional fellows. This is for a week at a time and about every 5 weeks now, but will decrease if they add another fellow (which they would like to do, and definitely have the volume for). The service is not primary on any patients (and thus write no orders except for lidocaine and ketamine gtts), which means fewer phone calls. Rounds take place Monday – Friday, sometimes on Saturdays, and only rarely on Sundays. The time fellows are typically called in is if there is an infected pump or SCS that requires urgent reoperation. This occurs ~0-2 times per year, which is about the same number of calls that are received after 9PM.
Future Direction
Likely addition of 5th fellow spot for 2020 class
Nashville
One of the fastest growing cities in the US
Food scene, lots to do, cultural activities, and outdoor activities just 30 minutes outside of central Nashville.
Graduating Fellow Review of Vanderbilt
Overall, I have felt very fortunate to be a fellow at this institution and believe that training here is one of the best in the country.
Leadership
Chair: Dr. David Edwards
Extremely smart and knowledgeable. Very research oriented, but very obviously appreciates the importance of clinical work and those who prefer this route. Significant and continued growth of clinical volume under his leadership. Takes fellows to Titans football games (front row seats) and Predators games throughout the year.
Program Director: Dr. Christopher Sobey
Very approachable and clinically excellent. Both are very dedicated to producing the best possible fellows as representatives of Vanderbilt (especially clinically), not allowing fellows time to be wasted on scut work or non-educational activities. They are dedicated to ensuring fellows work hard, but not an excessive number of hours (generally 50-60 hours per week).
Anesthesia, PM&R, and Neurosurgeons on pain faculty.
There are NO malignant faculty and everybody (including staff) are very friendly. The program manager is a gem.
Procedures
Clinical volume, especially procedural volume, is one of Vanderbilt’s greatest strengths. There is a huge variety of fluoroscopic, ultrasound-guided, blind, and even intermittent CT-guided procedures. Fellows spend about 60% of their time doing procedures, which is usually between 20-25 procedures a day. As for advanced procedures, fellows typically do between 20-40+ SCS implants (and about as many trials), as well as other procedures including IT pumps, DRGs, kyphoplasty, interspinous spacers, and peripheral nerve stimulators. Notably, Abbott came to Vanderbilt this year to train all fellows and attendings (who hadn’t already done the training) on DRG, which they had never done at a University before.
Education
-3x weekly lectures 7-8 in the morning
-Weekly grand rounds
-Quarterly journal clubs over dinner at restaurants (very nice, with ETOH)
-Lots of ad hoc teaching
-Board Review
Research
Several faculty are heavily involved in research. Fellows are encouraged, but not required to participate in research projects. Fellows are encouraged, but not required, to present at one conference during fellowship and/or write a book chapter and/or write journal article.
Rotations
Fellows rotate with spine neuroradiology, spine surgery, addiction psychiatry, PM&R, and others. There are a number of other electives you can choose to do (e.g., integrative medicine), which can essentially be anything you would like to do. Many choose to rotate at private practices where they would like to work or for an “outside of Vanderbilt” experience.
Schedule
Clinic
Monday through Friday
0700 Lecture
0800 - 1530/1600 procedure days vs. consult days
Average 3-3.5 procedure days and 1.5-2 consult days a week
Average 20-25 procedures a day
No charting after work hours, no call, usually out by 1600-1630
Inpatient chronic pain service (CPS)
Currently 1 week every 5-6 weeks, will be less with the addition of extra fellow
Acute pain fellows take the extra weeks
Round on Saturday for 1 hour, no rounds on Sunday
Census usually 4-10 patients
Team consists of fellow, resident/intern, attending and soon to be NP (in process of hiring). Number on service varies by day.
Consult service only, separate acute pain service.
Hours: 800-1530
CPS fellow does all in-hospital implants
Wednesday and Friday Cancer pain clinic for 1/2 day - typically 4-8 patients
Call
Home call
Only on inpatient chronic pain service
Rarely get called after work hours, usually new RN mistaking us as primary team
Out of 4 fellows, only 2 had to go in once each after-hours, this was due to an emergency (infected device)
Call is for the inpatient chronic pain service, which is run by the fellows, and is divided among the pain medicine fellows and the acute pain/regional fellows. This is for a week at a time and about every 5 weeks now, but will decrease if they add another fellow (which they would like to do, and definitely have the volume for). The service is not primary on any patients (and thus write no orders except for lidocaine and ketamine gtts), which means fewer phone calls. Rounds take place Monday – Friday, sometimes on Saturdays, and only rarely on Sundays. The time fellows are typically called in is if there is an infected pump or SCS that requires urgent reoperation. This occurs ~0-2 times per year, which is about the same number of calls that are received after 9PM.
Future Direction
Likely addition of 5th fellow spot for 2020 class
Nashville
One of the fastest growing cities in the US
Food scene, lots to do, cultural activities, and outdoor activities just 30 minutes outside of central Nashville.
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Can someone please post an updated review of the NYC area programs?
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What I’ve heard from program directors:
1) Cornell
2) Mt. Sinai
3) Montefiore
4) NYU / St. Luke’s
5) Columbia
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- 343
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Any reason in particular columbia is at the bottom? I’ve heard they do stim and pump implants now, which was a concern previously when they didn’t.
Also isn’t Montefiore a physiatry pain program (nothing wrong with that, just saying it might not be open enough to anesthesia as a program to compare to the others)
Hasn't been a review for my former program in awhile, so wanted to provide one.
Program
Baylor Scott and White (formerly known as just Scott and White); Temple, Texas
2 fellows per year (no, you don't have to have trained at Scott and White as resident to match)
Culture of the place is unbeatable. There was a former fellow from every previous class at my interview. I did not see this amount of pride or level of involvement at any other program.
Faculty
PD is Dr. Christopher Burnett. Trained at Texas Tech at its peak. Great person, easy to work with. Freakishly talented when it comes to performing procedures. Huge Texas Longhorns fan (not really, but bonus points if mentioned at an interview). Other faculty trained at a mixture of programs, including Miami, Texas Tech, Scott and White. Each is different in their own right, not a single one is difficult to work with. All of the pain faculty are anesthesiology trained.
Location
Temple, TX is the primary location and where most people live. Other communities nearby include Belton and Salado. It's about 1--1:30 to Austin depending on traffic and what part of Austin you are going to. 45 minutes to Waco. 2 hrs to Dallas/Fort Worth. The Temple area is nice, especially if you have a family.
Procedures
You'll do a ton as a fellow. I did over 160 stimulator cases-the hospital is on contract with the main players in the device arena-Boston Scientific, Nevro, Medtronic, St. J/Abbott. You as the fellow can choose whatever system you and the patient want. You can do DRG as much as you want. We don't do IT pumps, which I think is a good thing. I did uncountable RFAs of just about every imaginable anatomic location, including sphenopalatine, splanchnic, intercostal, Morton's neuromas, genicular, suprascapular, etc. The majority of our patients undergo procedures. We do NOT give sedation for our clinic based fluoro procedures. This greatly streamlines the process, increases throughput, and reduces risk. Once you learn this way, you'll never want to give sedation for your procedures. We do take trials and of course permanents to the OR, which is in the same building as the pain clinic. We do vertebral augmentation in the OR as well, you can do kypho or vertebroplasty.
Clinic
Typical staffing is 4 NPs, 1 fellow most of the year, variable number of anesthesiology residents and 2 attendings.
Extremely low turnover among nursing and support staff. Everybody knows their job and does it. You are not depended upon to make the clinic function, which means you concentrate on doing whatever you want to do as a fellow--whether that is doing as many procedures as you can (yes), seeing as many new consults as you can (useful), or seeing only stimulator candidates--you can do any of those things without significantly impacting the clinic flow on most days. We don't currently have "procedure days" in the clinic. They are just mixed in to the day. I like this set up and it is how I am practicing in private practice now.
Rotations
Off-service rotations are 2 weeks each in PM&R, acute pain, psychology, neurosurgery, neurology/headache, palliative. You rotate in 3 different pain clinics, each with 2 pain faculty. The majority of the pain clinic time is in Temple with Drs. Burnett and Lange.
Call
Exceptionally low burden. The anesthesia senior resident on call fields issues, which are few and far between. I never had to go to the hospital at night or on a weekend. Had 3 after hours pages the entire year, all were intended for somebody else.
Moonlighting
It is available. You can do zero or a lot.
Didactics
Weekly, prior to clinic. Journal clubs and fellow talks scattered throughout the year.
Other things to consider
If you want to do a ton of research, you might not like it here. You'll definitely get out of this program whatever you want. If you aren't a self-starter, it's probably not a good match. Temple is not a huge city (positive and negative). But you will have just about everything you need. There is no traffic. Austin and Dallas are pretty easy to get to. From those places, you can fly nearly anywhere in the world non-stop, literally. Waco is close too. The city of Temple is built around the hospital, so it's quite a strong medical community. The rental market on homes is good, with a lot of turnover on July 1, due to the resident/fellow/med student turnover. The public schools are in the very good--great range. Just do your research on those.
That about wraps it up. If you want to be really experienced with procedures, this is your place. I don't think there's another program quite like it right now. The people you work with are incredible as well. Definitely the best training/education decision I made, and the most fun I had during my training experience.
Program
Baylor Scott and White (formerly known as just Scott and White); Temple, Texas
2 fellows per year (no, you don't have to have trained at Scott and White as resident to match)
Culture of the place is unbeatable. There was a former fellow from every previous class at my interview. I did not see this amount of pride or level of involvement at any other program.
Faculty
PD is Dr. Christopher Burnett. Trained at Texas Tech at its peak. Great person, easy to work with. Freakishly talented when it comes to performing procedures. Huge Texas Longhorns fan (not really, but bonus points if mentioned at an interview). Other faculty trained at a mixture of programs, including Miami, Texas Tech, Scott and White. Each is different in their own right, not a single one is difficult to work with. All of the pain faculty are anesthesiology trained.
Location
Temple, TX is the primary location and where most people live. Other communities nearby include Belton and Salado. It's about 1--1:30 to Austin depending on traffic and what part of Austin you are going to. 45 minutes to Waco. 2 hrs to Dallas/Fort Worth. The Temple area is nice, especially if you have a family.
Procedures
You'll do a ton as a fellow. I did over 160 stimulator cases-the hospital is on contract with the main players in the device arena-Boston Scientific, Nevro, Medtronic, St. J/Abbott. You as the fellow can choose whatever system you and the patient want. You can do DRG as much as you want. We don't do IT pumps, which I think is a good thing. I did uncountable RFAs of just about every imaginable anatomic location, including sphenopalatine, splanchnic, intercostal, Morton's neuromas, genicular, suprascapular, etc. The majority of our patients undergo procedures. We do NOT give sedation for our clinic based fluoro procedures. This greatly streamlines the process, increases throughput, and reduces risk. Once you learn this way, you'll never want to give sedation for your procedures. We do take trials and of course permanents to the OR, which is in the same building as the pain clinic. We do vertebral augmentation in the OR as well, you can do kypho or vertebroplasty.
Clinic
Typical staffing is 4 NPs, 1 fellow most of the year, variable number of anesthesiology residents and 2 attendings.
Extremely low turnover among nursing and support staff. Everybody knows their job and does it. You are not depended upon to make the clinic function, which means you concentrate on doing whatever you want to do as a fellow--whether that is doing as many procedures as you can (yes), seeing as many new consults as you can (useful), or seeing only stimulator candidates--you can do any of those things without significantly impacting the clinic flow on most days. We don't currently have "procedure days" in the clinic. They are just mixed in to the day. I like this set up and it is how I am practicing in private practice now.
Rotations
Off-service rotations are 2 weeks each in PM&R, acute pain, psychology, neurosurgery, neurology/headache, palliative. You rotate in 3 different pain clinics, each with 2 pain faculty. The majority of the pain clinic time is in Temple with Drs. Burnett and Lange.
Call
Exceptionally low burden. The anesthesia senior resident on call fields issues, which are few and far between. I never had to go to the hospital at night or on a weekend. Had 3 after hours pages the entire year, all were intended for somebody else.
Moonlighting
It is available. You can do zero or a lot.
Didactics
Weekly, prior to clinic. Journal clubs and fellow talks scattered throughout the year.
Other things to consider
If you want to do a ton of research, you might not like it here. You'll definitely get out of this program whatever you want. If you aren't a self-starter, it's probably not a good match. Temple is not a huge city (positive and negative). But you will have just about everything you need. There is no traffic. Austin and Dallas are pretty easy to get to. From those places, you can fly nearly anywhere in the world non-stop, literally. Waco is close too. The city of Temple is built around the hospital, so it's quite a strong medical community. The rental market on homes is good, with a lot of turnover on July 1, due to the resident/fellow/med student turnover. The public schools are in the very good--great range. Just do your research on those.
That about wraps it up. If you want to be really experienced with procedures, this is your place. I don't think there's another program quite like it right now. The people you work with are incredible as well. Definitely the best training/education decision I made, and the most fun I had during my training experience.
Last edited:
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- Messages
- 70
- Reaction score
- 41
Does UCSD still have that unusual funding situation?
(I had heard a fellow is essentially volun-told to be assigned a $50k payment from industry and it shows up on the Sunshine Act database)
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2019
- Messages
- 343
- Reaction score
- 204
Any final words on programs before the ranking deadline tonight? Either way, good luck everybody!
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2019
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 4
Brief reviews of some programs I interviewed at. Not systematic but more my general impressions/takeaways:
Emory:
- Interview was on a Saturday I believe
- Very supportive PD, seems like a genuinely good person. Clearly had read my application thoroughly and was pointing out certain details he found interesting during the interview
- Our fellow guide seemed burned out (this was in June so almost done), tried to be diplomatic but was clearly happy to be done
- Faculty interviewers seemed overall nice
- Multiple clinic locations, sometimes need to drive to one place in the morning and another in afternoon
- Good bread and butter volume, fellow said SCS trials and perms totaled around 10-15 per fellow
- Call fellow dropped by towards the end of the morning, said call can be variable. Round on old and new consults, leave when you're done and hold the pager.
Mt. Sinai:
- This is MSSM, not St Luke's
- All faculty were collegial and easygoing. PD is straight shooter and very funny.
- High volume clinic, high volume procedures but almost entirely bread and butter. Not much SCS, no pumps or kypho.
- PD very proud of integrated billing/coding didactics in clinic, says his fellows are the most ready-to-go in the country in terms of billing correctly
- A few locations in NYC, most fellows live in the city and use subway to get around
- High COL obviously, fellows unclear on whether they qualify for Sinai subsidized housing
UPMC:
- PD (like Emory) seemed like a genuinely good person. Straight about where his program is stronger and weaker.
- Big big research arm, can apply to the T-32 track or another research track if that interests you
- UPMC basically owns the Pittsburgh healthcare market
- Many clinical sites scattered throughout the city
- They gave us the call schedule, seems pretty heavy. Cover multiple hospitals at a time on weekends, only one hospital during the week. They pay you for half your calls though, so PD said fellows will trade if they want to make extra money
- Weak on advanced procedures (SCS, kypho, pump), seemed good enough on bread and butter
- Many internal candidates between the anesthesia and PM&R residencies, current fellow class had several internal residents
OHSU:
- Absolutely beautiful facilities, located atop Marquam Hill in Portland with great views of the city and river
- Portland is a great pacific northwest town, like a less crowded and expensive Seattle
- Parking is a nightmare both logistically and financially, almost all faculty and fellows either cycle or use public transport
- Very low-stress clinic (60min new visit, 30min follow-up), lots of time for discussing, reviewing images, etc.
- Good bread and butter volume, around 10-15 stims per fellow
- Everyone I met there was super friendly, easily the lowest-pressure interview of the trail
- 3 spots per year, only 3 candidates per interview day so you get a lot of one-on-one time
- Didactics didn't seem too great
- Acute pain call 8 weeks/year, fellows said it used to be 12+
Colorado:
- PMR based program, has 3 spots per year (anesthesia, peds anesthesia, PMR)
- Lots of MSK and U/S training, good bread and butter, limited advanced procedures
- Multiple clinics in and around Denver
- Geographically great if you love hiking, skiing, outdoor activities
- For PMR fellow, call is sideline coverage. Anes fellows do pain call.
- Felt at times like a sports/spine fellowship with pain accreditation
UC Davis:
- Multiple mini interview format - every applicant is asked the same question, standardized format
- PD is a young guy, high energy. Chair (Dr. Fishman) is well known in pain circles.
- Sacramento seemed like a nice town, low COL and close to a lot of great things in northern CA
- "Boot camp" course for new fellows to ease them into training
- Notably, 2 of the fellows signed up for a 100% anesthesia job in southern CA, no pain at all
Emory:
- Interview was on a Saturday I believe
- Very supportive PD, seems like a genuinely good person. Clearly had read my application thoroughly and was pointing out certain details he found interesting during the interview
- Our fellow guide seemed burned out (this was in June so almost done), tried to be diplomatic but was clearly happy to be done
- Faculty interviewers seemed overall nice
- Multiple clinic locations, sometimes need to drive to one place in the morning and another in afternoon
- Good bread and butter volume, fellow said SCS trials and perms totaled around 10-15 per fellow
- Call fellow dropped by towards the end of the morning, said call can be variable. Round on old and new consults, leave when you're done and hold the pager.
Mt. Sinai:
- This is MSSM, not St Luke's
- All faculty were collegial and easygoing. PD is straight shooter and very funny.
- High volume clinic, high volume procedures but almost entirely bread and butter. Not much SCS, no pumps or kypho.
- PD very proud of integrated billing/coding didactics in clinic, says his fellows are the most ready-to-go in the country in terms of billing correctly
- A few locations in NYC, most fellows live in the city and use subway to get around
- High COL obviously, fellows unclear on whether they qualify for Sinai subsidized housing
UPMC:
- PD (like Emory) seemed like a genuinely good person. Straight about where his program is stronger and weaker.
- Big big research arm, can apply to the T-32 track or another research track if that interests you
- UPMC basically owns the Pittsburgh healthcare market
- Many clinical sites scattered throughout the city
- They gave us the call schedule, seems pretty heavy. Cover multiple hospitals at a time on weekends, only one hospital during the week. They pay you for half your calls though, so PD said fellows will trade if they want to make extra money
- Weak on advanced procedures (SCS, kypho, pump), seemed good enough on bread and butter
- Many internal candidates between the anesthesia and PM&R residencies, current fellow class had several internal residents
OHSU:
- Absolutely beautiful facilities, located atop Marquam Hill in Portland with great views of the city and river
- Portland is a great pacific northwest town, like a less crowded and expensive Seattle
- Parking is a nightmare both logistically and financially, almost all faculty and fellows either cycle or use public transport
- Very low-stress clinic (60min new visit, 30min follow-up), lots of time for discussing, reviewing images, etc.
- Good bread and butter volume, around 10-15 stims per fellow
- Everyone I met there was super friendly, easily the lowest-pressure interview of the trail
- 3 spots per year, only 3 candidates per interview day so you get a lot of one-on-one time
- Didactics didn't seem too great
- Acute pain call 8 weeks/year, fellows said it used to be 12+
Colorado:
- PMR based program, has 3 spots per year (anesthesia, peds anesthesia, PMR)
- Lots of MSK and U/S training, good bread and butter, limited advanced procedures
- Multiple clinics in and around Denver
- Geographically great if you love hiking, skiing, outdoor activities
- For PMR fellow, call is sideline coverage. Anes fellows do pain call.
- Felt at times like a sports/spine fellowship with pain accreditation
UC Davis:
- Multiple mini interview format - every applicant is asked the same question, standardized format
- PD is a young guy, high energy. Chair (Dr. Fishman) is well known in pain circles.
- Sacramento seemed like a nice town, low COL and close to a lot of great things in northern CA
- "Boot camp" course for new fellows to ease them into training
- Notably, 2 of the fellows signed up for a 100% anesthesia job in southern CA, no pain at all
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2019
- Messages
- 146
- Reaction score
- 153
Anyone have thoughts on Rush?
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2015
- Messages
- 52
- Reaction score
- 64
I'm training not far from there, and have had a couple of friends recently go through the program.
Essentially, the rumours are true: it's a workhorse program. You get excellent clinical exposure and a ton of procedures (>100 stims/fellow), and the facilities are nice. Rush is a big name. Finding a job will be a breeze. However, the hours are very long, the workload is very high, call is relentless, and academic teaching is minimal. It is by no means a cushy or fellow-friendly program, and if you want to be happy or have work-life balance, it's not the place for you. If you're looking for excellent procedural training by virtue of volume, and don't really mind having no life, it could be a great fit. FWIW, knowing what I know, I didn't even apply there.
- Joined
- May 27, 2010
- Messages
- 395
- Reaction score
- 144
I think future fellows should try to introspect and figure out what type of practice they want to join when they finish training (or more so what they DON'T want to do). And then find a fellowship that matches that to some degree. For example, if you know that you don't want to do IT pumps, then going to a pump heavy program will be kinda worthless - spending a ton of time in the OR doing pumps when you could be doing other stuff that would benefit your practice.
With Rush, their surgical training is fantastic by virtue of numbers. But when you finish, if you don't end up doing your own implants- all of the OR time/long hours probably weren't worth it.
With Rush, their surgical training is fantastic by virtue of numbers. But when you finish, if you don't end up doing your own implants- all of the OR time/long hours probably weren't worth it.
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2016
- Messages
- 348
- Reaction score
- 303
Anyone have thoughts on Northwestern?
Pick_up_your_dream
Full Member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2020
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 0
Everyone interested is welcome to join new 2020 Match thread:
forums.studentdoctor.net
2020-2021 Pain Fellowship Interview Thread
Here we go again folks! Good luck to all those applying this year. Spreadsheet: 2020-2021 pain medicine fellowship interview spreadsheet
forums.studentdoctor.net
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2016
- Messages
- 26
- Reaction score
- 3
Does anyone have a review on the UCLA/ WLA VA Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Pain Medicine Fellowship?
Reading old reviews on Scutwork.com, it seems a good fellowship that is under the radar but those were from 2004
Thanks
Reading old reviews on Scutwork.com, it seems a good fellowship that is under the radar but those were from 2004
Thanks
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2015
- Messages
- 52
- Reaction score
- 64
One of our former chiefs (who trained at CC) is now an attending there, and a good friend interviewed there last cycle. She actually really liked it - tons of procedures, a lot of invasive/implantable stuff, good facilities and good people. The only big downside was that it was in Toledo.
Hello,
I have applied for pain medicine fellowship this year. Could someone share their thoughts regarding the following programs.
1)OHSU
2)CCF
3)Washington Univ - St. Louis
4)Rush
5)Univ of Minnesota
6)Penn State Hershey
Thanks in advance
I have applied for pain medicine fellowship this year. Could someone share their thoughts regarding the following programs.
1)OHSU
2)CCF
3)Washington Univ - St. Louis
4)Rush
5)Univ of Minnesota
6)Penn State Hershey
Thanks in advance
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2016
- Messages
- 26
- Reaction score
- 3
Does anyone have information about the pain fellowship for Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville?
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2015
- Messages
- 52
- Reaction score
- 64
CCF is a great program, several close friends went there and enjoyed it. They're the oldest and biggest program. Amazing faculty (the PD is a legend, and an absolute pleasure just to chat with), great facilities, lots of clinical trials, no shortage of procedures. They do work harder than many other programs, and with so many fellows, some have mentioned that it feels a little less "personal", and it definitely had a bit of a no-nonsense atmosphere. That said, easily one of the very top, and essentially a golden ticket to whatever you want to do.
Rush is a workhorse program with a very high number of procedures and stims. They will run you into the ground and teaching is less of a focus (think like... the general surgery residency equivalent of a pain fellowship). However, the connections and clinical training are both excellent. Lubenow is phenomenal. If you think you want to be more into the stims/implants end of the spectrum, it's a very solid choice that will put you above many others.
Hershey was... interesting. They seemed like a really nice program with sorta average training and procedures. Younger attendings with solid PP experience, very interested in developing the program further, expanding, bringing new procedures, etc. Hershey itself is very small, and absolutely every square inch of it smells, looks, or is chocolate (seriously).
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2016
- Messages
- 26
- Reaction score
- 3
anyone have insights to the USC Keck School of Medicine Pain Fellowship?
Thank you
westcoastresdoc
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2020
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 2
Hey Everyone! Can anyone share their experiences at University of South Florida in Tampa?
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2019
- Messages
- 343
- Reaction score
- 204
Montefiore is a PM&R-department-based fellowship, if that matters to you
