Since its inception in July 2012, this fellowship remains accredited by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Our fellowship program currently accepts two fellows each year. We are dedicated to providing excellent clinical education for our fellows to become skilled and confident providers in a multidisciplinary approach to pain medicine.
Experiences in Pain Management
In the outpatient clinics, fellows will see a variety of patients presenting with chronic pain, cancer-related pain and nerve or musculoskeletal injuries. Our program will develop a foundation for obtaining pertinent history, performing appropriate physical examinations, and creating a treatment plan for various forms of chronic pain. In addition, the fellows will directly participate in interventional procedures with the guidance and supervision of our esteemed faculty. Our program has partnered with a local renowned private practice group, the Comprehensive Centers for Pain Management, to augment the clinical and educational experience. This unique exposure allows the fellows to understand an alternative approach and the workflow of a private practice.
With the growing need for alternative forms of treatment, our program remains at the forefront of new interventional techniques and procedures to alleviate acute and chronic pain. Interventional procedures are performed at both the UTMC Pain Medicine Clinic and the Comprehensive Centers for Pain Management. The fellows will learn how to properly and skillfully utilize fluoroscopy and ultrasound to create an ideal view for each intervention. Our fellows will be trained in various procedures, including (but not limited to) trigger point injections, peripheral nerve blocks, epidural steroid injections, sacroiliac joint injections, facet/medial branch blocks, intraarticular joint injections, intercostal blocks, radiofrequency ablation/rhizotomy, sympathetic blocks, and neurolytic blocks. Training in advanced techniques, including intrathecal infusion therapy, dorsal column spinal cord stimulation, dorsal root ganglion stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, kyphoplasty, minimally invasive lumbar decompression, and interspinous spacer implantation, is also provided.
Acute pain management training comes from clinic based patient visits and hospital inpatients, actively managing acute traumatic, postoperative, acute on chronic, and cancer pains. The inpatient service commonly utilizes PCAs, thoracic and lumbar epidural catheters, and peripheral nerve continuous catheters.
Subspecialty Rotations
The educational program follows the ACGME guidelines to ensure all fellows will have experiences in anesthesiology, neuroradiology, rheumatology, neurology, psychiatry, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. These core rotations are designed to build the foundation for a well-rounded future pain practitioner. Working closely with the experts of each specialty, the fellows gain an understanding of how each plays a role in the pathophysiology, evaluation, and treatment for the pain patient.
Didactics and Education
Our didactics program for pain management consists of lectures, simulation training, cadaver labs, journal clubs, and quizzes. Any subspecialty lectures relevant to pain medicine are encouraged and are open to the pain fellows throughout the year for attendance. We have our own ever-expanding library of pain medicine books and resources accessible to the all fellows (current and past) that have been a part of our program. At our state-of-the-art Simulation Center, we will be holding monthly cadaver labs with the availability of a radiation technician to provide fluoroscopic imaging for some of the more challenging procedures, such as sympathetic and celiac plexus blocks.
Education and teaching skills are an important part of developing a successful pain practice. This may take the form of education other junior physicians, nurses, or speaking with insurances on appealing procedure denials. An integral part of our fellowship is educating the residents and medical students during their rotation on the pain service. Also, fellows will deliver a pain management lecture to the anesthesiology residents during the year.
Research
Fellows will participate in new and ongoing clinical research, leading to presentations at national and world-wide conferences with the goal of eventual publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Numerous projects are underway and continue to be implemented each year. In addition, there are many opportunities to write case reports or subject reviews for presentation and publication.
Improvements
As an academic institution, we are always improving our training program for fellows. We encourage fellows to provide feedback to the program for any areas that can be changed. We take any recommendations seriously, and strive to make a program that gives our fellows the best education and training possible.
For more information, please contact:
Patti Finch
Pain Fellowship Coordinator
Division of Pain Management
419.383.3507
419.383.3550 (Fax)
patti.ellis@utoledo.edu