The 2010/2011 Fellowship Position has been filled
Accepting applications for the 2011/2012 Fellowship Program in April, 2010
The UCSD Department of Anesthesiology Center for
Pain Medicine (CPM) offers four ACGME accredited one-year clinical fellowship in
pain management. The program provides a broad clinical experience in acute,
chronic and cancer pain. In addition, the didactic program provides a strong
foundation in both the basic and clinical sciences. The CPM has an outstanding
clinical research program that provides ample opportunity for the fellow to
participate in clinical research, if so desired.
Clinical Experience
Opportunities for patient care
range from chronic outpatient to tertiary acute inpatient care.
Multiple segments compose the diverse Chronic Pain Management Program. Weekly
evaluation/follow up and procedure clinics are held at both UCSD Medical Center
and the VA Medical Center. In addition, the Pain Fellow has the opportunity to
choose up to a maximum of four weeks per year elective rotations. These elective
rotations can be selected from various UCSD subspecialty programs or from the
private practice sector.
Pharmacologic Methods
Pharmacological methods include treatment with:
- Opiate “pain killers” in selected patients
- Anti-inflammatory drugs
- Antidepressants
- Anticonvulsants.
The choice or combination of medications depends upon the patient and the pain
problem.
Non-pharmacologic Methods
Non-pharmacological methods used by the CPM
include:
- Psychological Evaluation and Therapy
- Physical Therapy=
- Acupuncture
- Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve and Muscle Stimulation
- Therapeutic Touch
- Chiropractic Therapy
Invasive Techniques
The CPM offers a variety of procedures to
treat pain. These include:
- Epidural Steroid Injections
- Diagnostic and Therapeutic Spinal Injections
- Plexus Blocks (Celiac/Hypogastric)
- Sympathetic Nerve Blocks (Stellate/Thoracic/Lumbar)
- Facet Joint Injections
- Sacroiliac Joint Injections
- Trigger Point Injections
- Botulinum Toxin Injections
- Peripheral Nerve Blocks
- Radiofrequency Ablation Techniques (Both Pulsed and
High Temperature)
- Intradiscal Electrothermal Annuloplasty
- Discal Nucleoplasty
- Spinal Endoscopy
- Epidural Lysis of Adhesions
- Intrathecal Drug Delivery
- Spinal Cord Stimulation
These procedures are often used in combination with other therapies. In
addition, the vast majority of these procedures are performed under fluoroscopic
guidance.
Didactics
The Center for Pain Medicine has a diverse
didactic program. The weekly pain conference schedule includes case conferences,
journal clubs, pain M & M conferences and monthly lectures from faculty and
invited lecturers. In addition, a multidisciplinary conference is held twice
monthly along with a monthly palliative and cancer pain conference. The fellow
participates in each of these conferences and also assumes responsibility for
some of the presentations. A concentrated three-week preclinical didactic series
is offered at the beginning of each fellowship year to provide a basic
foundation in the mechanisms of pain.
Additional conferences available include:
- Department Visiting Professor Series
- Department Journal Club Meetings
- Anesthesia Update (national conference sponsored by
our Anesthesiology department)
- Anesthesia Review (national conference sponsored by
our Anesthesiology department)
- ACGME Resident Core Lectures
Research
Each fellow is provided the
opportunity to participate in an existing clinical pain research project or
propose a project. Nonclinical time will be provided for patient recruitment,
data collection and manuscript preparation. Many fellows have participated in
clinical research projects that have resulted in presentations and/or
publication in a peer-reviewed.
Documentation
To Apply
For an application to be considered it must contain the
following:
-
Application form(excel format)
- Personal statement
- Curriculum vitae
- USMLE Scores
- Specialty In Service Exam Scores
- 3 letters of reference
- Copies of current certificates of licensure to
practice medicine
- Copy of Medical School Diploma
- Current Photo
Applications should be received by late summer or early fall of the preceding
year, although the application process remains open until a candidate has been
interviewed and selected. There are currently four fellowship positions available
for each academic year, two starting in July and two starting in Januaury. Applications with other requested
start dates will be considered.
For application or more information, contact:
Pain Fellowship Coordinator
painfellowship@ucsd.edu
UCSD Center for Pain Medicine
9300 Campus Point Dr., MC 7651
La Jolla, CA 92093-0924
Phone: 858-657-7072
Fax: 858-657-7035
| 
