Psychiatry and Pain

docpsych · Feb 25, 2006

I have been hearing a lot of debate as to weather non-anesth residents are able to do interventional or medical pain fellowships
I am currently a 2nd year psych resident looking at either pain medicine or neuropsych as potential fellowships to pursue. if i am a competent doctor and efficient learner i think i would do well in pain management. there is a significant psychiatric factor in the large population of pts who recieve pain care. i think psych could offer a invaluable approach to this field.
does anyone have any opinions about by future plans, i would like to see both negative and positive remarks. i know one of the most significant factors working against me is the fact i am from a speciality which has no procedures--however if one is a quick learner would he not do well in pain despite subpar procedural experience.

also is anyone aware of any psych friendly pain fellowships, i know Cleveland clinic has one.

drusso · Feb 27, 2006

*THE* person that you need to talk to is Scott Fishman, MD at UC Davis. He's done both Med/Psych and an interventional pain fellowship. He's internationally known.

Scott Fishman CV

Another person who had done this path is Mike Hooten, MD at Mayo. He actually did Med/Psych/Anesthesia/Interventional Pain.

Mike Hooten CV

The nice part of the psych training is the ability to do both the interventional piece and the pain rehab piece. It's nice skill set.

Nikiforos · Mar 1, 2006

You may also want to contact Ajay Wasan, M.D., M.Sc. [email protected]. He is at the pain management center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He did at least one year of surgery before completing a psychiatry residency at Johns Hopkins. He then did a pain management fellowship at the Brigham. He is a relatively young attending--good personality and engaging. Good luck.

paz5559 · Mar 4, 2006

docpsych said:
I have been hearing a lot of debate as to weather non-anesth residents are able to do interventional or medical pain fellowships
I am currently a 2nd year psych resident looking at either pain medicine or neuropsych as potential fellowships to pursue. if i am a competent doctor and efficient learner i think i would do well in pain management. there is a significant psychiatric factor in the large population of pts who recieve pain care. i think psych could offer a invaluable approach to this field.
does anyone have any opinions about by future plans, i would like to see both negative and positive remarks. i know one of the most significant factors working against me is the fact i am from a speciality which has no procedures--however if one is a quick learner would he not do well in pain despite subpar procedural experience.

also is anyone aware of any psych friendly pain fellowships, i know Cleveland clinic has one.

Edward Covington (http://www.clevelandclinic.org/Staff/GetStaff.Asp?StaffId=1053) is THE psych guy everyone invites to speak at their pain meetings, and he can provide extraordinary insight as to how he incorporates his expertise into a comprehensive pain practice)

Sheryl Johnson (http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/people/dop/dopDetail.cfm?drid=1502) is a psychiatrist who came on board as an interventionist at UVA after completing their fellowship, and might be a good resource for both how to break into the field, and what special contributions a pain fellowship trained psychiatrist might bring to a pain management practice

alwaysjammin · Mar 21, 2006

thanks all for the links...very helpful.

paz5559 said:
Edward Covington (http://www.clevelandclinic.org/Staff/GetStaff.Asp?StaffId=1053) is THE psych guy everyone invites to speak at their pain meetings, and he can provide extraordinary insight as to how he incorporates his expertise into a comprehensive pain practice)

Sheryl Johnson (http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/people/dop/dopDetail.cfm?drid=1502) is a psychiatrist who came on board as an interventionist at UVA after completing their fellowship, and might be a good resource for both how to break into the field, and what special contributions a pain fellowship trained psychiatrist might bring to a pain management practice

sga430 · Apr 26, 2006

some of those docs listed above are like triple boarded in psych, IM and anaesth and the pain fellowship. 1 residency is enuff for me. how competetive is it for a single boarded psych to be a pain specialist?

SJP · Apr 29, 2006

I would also like to know the answer to sga430's question-- how competetive is it for a single boarded psych to be a pain specialist?

Aether2000 · Apr 29, 2006

For a psychiatrist to become a pain specialist with use of medications, functional rehabilitation, and obviously psychiatric therapy would be relatively easy. For a psychiatrist to become proficient in basic interventional injection procedures: it would be possible in one year. For a psychiatrist without prior training in surgery or anesthesiology to perform medium and advanced level pain procedures, it would be very difficult. Hospital privileging may also be a problem for procedures since this is new territory for most hospital credentials departments.

Psychiatry and Pain

docpsych

Junior Member

drusso

Full Member

Nikiforos

Junior Member

paz5559

Full Member

alwaysjammin

Junior Member

sga430

Membership Revoked

SJP

Junior Member

Aether2000

algosdoc

Similar threads