2020-2021 Pain Fellowship Interview Thread

Started by camedstudent23
International Pain and Spine Intervention Society
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check with MDACC today, they have sent out all invitations. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. 🙁

freak out as well. only thing I can do is to pray!!!
 
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UVA emailed saying they’re putting a hold on reviewing applications and will push their interviews later into the summer so they can avoid having to do Skype interviews.
 
Abany Medical Center (1/9) - 5/8, 5/15, 6/26
UCLA David Geffen SOM (1/10) - 3/13, 3/25, 4/10
Allegheny (1/28) - 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 4/30, 5/7, 5/14
University of Kentucky (1/28) - 4/21,4/28,5/5,5/12
Emory University (2/3) - 3/22,5/17
UNM (2/5) - 3/27, 4/24, 5/8
Dartmouth (2/11) - 5/1, 5/8
UMMS-Baystate (2/13) - 6/18, 6/25, 7/16, 8/6, 8/13
Univ. of Buffalo (2/13) - 3/27
University of Kansas (2/18) - 5/4
Cook County (2/21) - 3/4, 4/8
University of Maryland (2/21) - 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 6/1
University of Wisconsin (2/28) - 5/6, 5/13
University of Louisville (3/2) - 5/15, 6/12
UNC (3/4) - 6/8, 6/9
University of Nebraska (3/5) - 5/4, 5/18
University of Michigan (3/9) - 4/18
MD Anderson (3/13) - 5/30, 6/6
OHSU (3/10) - 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, 5/1, 5/8, 5/9, 6/5, 6/26, 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, 8/21
Rush (3/10) - 5/2, 5/7, 5/28
Medical College of Georgia (3/12) - 4/27, 5/4, 6/1
Virginia Mason (3/16) - ...
Northwestern (3/23) - 3/27, 4/3, 4/24 [all via phone
Vanderbilt (3/24) - 6/12, 6/19
 
If any of you are considering cancelling your interview at Rush at some point, please let me know before you cancel it, so that we can coordinate and take up your spot. I am wait listed for an interview there. Thanks in advance.
 
Pullingo said:
If any of you are considering cancelling your interview at Rush at some point, please let me know before you cancel it, so that we can coordinate and take up your spot. I am wait listed for an interview there. Thanks in advance.
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I received a May 2 interview there. I’m curious if they will stay with in-person interviews for that date.
 
gainey77 said:
I received a May 2 interview there. I’m curious if they will stay with in-person interviews for that date.
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I received an actual invite, but before i could login to thalamus and schedule, all the spots are filled. That's weird. Now i'm wait listed on all three dates. Rush sent out one wave of invites on 10th of march; i assume that i got invite late just because i am an IMG. Anyways please let me know if you consider cancelling to take up some other date. It's first come first serve in thalamus. I have to keep refreshing thalamus to see if any spot has opened up.
 
Ok. Update. I just called the PC. She said they have sent invites to more people because they think many will cancel given the current condition. If the travel restrictions persist, they are looking to conduct interviews through Zoom or Webex.
 
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Pullingo said:
Ok. Update. I just called the PC. She said they have sent invites to more people because they think many will cancel given the current condition. If the travel restrictions persist, they are looking to conduct interviews through Zoom or Webex.
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I fell like fewer people are going to be canceling interviews this year since most programs are going to tele interview format and therefore we don't have to worry about buying another plane ticket. I wonder if this will reduce the number of second-wave interviews that would normally be sent out?
 
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Abany Medical Center (1/9) - 5/8, 5/15, 6/26
UCLA David Geffen SOM (1/10) - 3/13, 3/25, 4/10
Allegheny (1/28) - 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 4/30, 5/7, 5/14
University of Kentucky (1/28) - 4/21,4/28,5/5,5/12
Emory University (2/3) - 3/22,5/17
UNM (2/5) - 3/27, 4/24, 5/8
Dartmouth (2/11) - 5/1, 5/8
UMMS-Baystate (2/13) - 6/18, 6/25, 7/16, 8/6, 8/13
Univ. of Buffalo (2/13) - 3/27
University of Kansas (2/18) - 5/4
Cook County (2/21) - 3/4, 4/8
University of Maryland (2/21) - 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 6/1
University of Wisconsin (2/28) - 5/6, 5/13
University of Louisville (3/2) - 5/15, 6/12
UNC (3/4) - 6/8, 6/9
University of Nebraska (3/5) - 5/4, 5/18
University of Michigan (3/9) - 4/18
OHSU (3/10) - 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, 5/1, 5/8, 5/9, 6/5, 6/26, 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, 8/21
Rush (3/10, 3/26) - 5/2, 5/7, 5/28, 6/11
Medical College of Georgia (3/12) - 4/27, 5/4, 6/1
Virginia Mason (3/16) - 5/11, 5/18, 6/8
Northwestern (3/23) - 3/27, 4/3, 4/24 [all via phone]
Vanderbilt (3/24) - 6/12, 6/19
 
blastoff said:
Given all the COVID stuff has it been quiet? Kind of getting worried now... or is it still too early?
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To be honest with you, they’re probably more concerned with how they’re gonna put food on the table than to set up interview days. Pain procedures are elective, reimbursement has been decreasing for years, and even when COVID is completely over next year, during the resultant recession there will be low demand as well. Not to mention the GUARANTEED changes in health care which will result in further declines in reimbursement for Pain procedures. In other words, you should be a lot more worried about what Pain’s future holds than not having interview days.
 
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You have until August 8th to submit rank lists, so interviews must be done by then. I suspect then that more interview schedules will come out in about 4-8 weeks. There are many academic centers where pain doctors are scrambling currently to figure out clinical operations. There's a few places with leadership changes.

I suspect there would be a release then of more requests for interviewing in late June/July, after things are more settled.
 
Orin said:
You have until August 8th to submit rank lists, so interviews must be done by then. I suspect then that more interview schedules will come out in about 4-8 weeks. There are many academic centers where pain doctors are scrambling currently to figure out clinical operations. There's a few places with leadership changes.

I suspect there would be a release then of more requests for interviewing in late June/July, after things are more settled.
Click to expand...

Tough times for everyone currently. I was just getting nervous because about not hearing much so far. Fingers crossed for all in this pandemic and application cycle.
 
I think this uncertainty is just temporary. We will be back to normal in a few months. If we have to have some advantage over CRNAs, chronic pain is the only way out. If we are sincere and work smart, we will be able to market ourselves better than our peers. It all depends on your approach. I still think chronic pain is a good specialty to train in.
 
Peterluger said:
Bad time to go into Pain my friend...
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anyone applying right now won’t be actually looking for a job until 1.5-2 years from now. No way anyone can predict what the job market will be like in that time period. If it’s a bad time to go into pain it’s also a bad time to go into any field - period. Even general anesthesia gigs are gonna be hard to get with all these elective procedures being cancelled but that’s all temporary.

If the concern is that there’s going to be a recession then I’d argue people’s pain fares worse during periods of economic distress since pain has a huge psych component.

I’m going into pain and i don’t have any desire to jump ship now, so I’m definitely biased, but I don’t think you can say for certain that applying to pain at this time is a bad decision.
 
Hospitals desperately need anesthesiologists for airway management right now. Demand and salaries are higher than ever for general anesthesiologists. For Pain...at best the same crappy job market for Pain is still crappy. And will be crappier after the multi-year recession and health care changes that COVID triggers in 1-2 years. Let’s not kid ourselves. During recessions people lose their jobs and don’t have money to pay for elective crap like spinal cord stims. If you don’t believe me, just ask your attendings where they think Pain will be in 2 years. It’s one thing if you truly love Pain, And money isn’t everything but make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Especially if you have six figure med school debt. Good luck guys.
 
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Peterluger said:
Hospitals desperately need anesthesiologists for airway management right now. Demand and salaries are higher than ever for general anesthesiologists. For Pain...at best the same crappy job market for Pain is still crappy. And will be crappier after the multi-year recession and health care changes that COVID triggers in 1-2 years. Good luck guys.
Click to expand...

a huge portion of general anesthesia jobs are to cover outpatient procedure areas. Practices have seen a significant drop in revenue because of elective case cancellations. That’s hurting their bottom line and partners are thinking twice before extending offers right now. Boomer attendings aren’t going to retire when they’ve lost 40% of their retirement funds in the market and that’ll have implications for a few years down the road. Like I said - this is a problem in all specialties.

If you think there’s a massive demand for General anesthesiologists right now you’re sorely mistake. Hospitals aren’t going to be hiring anesthesia attendings right now just because of an expected 2-3 week surge in intubation numbers. Lol. No one is hiring right now.
 
Propofool123 said:
a huge portion of general anesthesia jobs are to cover outpatient procedure areas. Practices have seen a significant drop in revenue because of elective case cancellations. That’s hurting their bottom line and partners are thinking twice before extending offers right now. Boomer attendings aren’t going to retire when they’ve lost 40% of their retirement funds in the market and that’ll have implications for a few years down the road. Like I said - this is a problem in all specialties.

If you think there’s a massive demand for General anesthesiologists right now you’re sorely mistake. Hospitals aren’t going to be hiring anesthesia attendings right now just because of an expected 2-3 week surge in intubation numbers. Lol. No one is hiring right now.
Click to expand...
Have you seen this website called gaswork? Well, on this website, there are still general anesthesia positions open in large metropolitan areas, some of them still offering $425,000 base salaries with $50,000 sign-on bonuses. And no, these aren’t old listings that they forgot to delete after the world ended a couple weeks ago. I mean you can speculate all day and kid yourself, or look at the reality on the ground. The reality is that elective procedures, especially Pain, are cancelled, period. And a recession is coming. On the other hand, in general anesthesia, it’s money making time.
 
Peterluger said:
Hospitals desperately need anesthesiologists for airway management right now. Demand and salaries are higher than ever for general anesthesiologists. For Pain...at best the same crappy job market for Pain is still crappy. And will be crappier after the multi-year recession and health care changes that COVID triggers in 1-2 years. Let’s not kid ourselves. During recessions people lose their jobs and don’t have money to pay for elective crap like spinal cord stims. If you don’t believe me, just ask your attendings where they think Pain will be in 2 years. It’s one thing if you truly love Pain, And money isn’t everything but make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Especially if you have six figure med school debt. Good luck guys.
Click to expand...

I would say the same about being a PCP, constantly arguing with people to take thier BP meds and diabetic medications. But some people love being a PCP, getting to teach these people on taking thier meds. But for me, it sounds like a horrible job. I enjoy pain, the pathophysiology of pain, the procedures, the pharmacology of the meds and the anatomy of the spine and peripheral joints, nerve, muscles. All medical specialities go up and down like the stock market, a few years ago my friends dad was upset bc he said ortho was gonna be hit hard with reimbursements and he is still doing well. You will always be making more than 99% of the country
 
Correcting one missing date:

Abany Medical Center (1/9) - 5/8, 5/15, 6/26
UCLA David Geffen SOM (1/10) - 3/13, 3/25, 4/10
Allegheny (1/28) - 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 4/30, 5/7, 5/14
University of Kentucky (1/28) - 4/21,4/28,5/5,5/12
Emory University (2/3) - 3/22,5/17
UNM (2/5) - 3/27, 4/24, 5/8
Dartmouth (2/11) - 5/1, 5/8
UMMS-Baystate (2/13) - 6/18, 6/25, 7/16, 8/6, 8/13
Univ. of Buffalo (2/13) - 3/27
University of Kansas (2/18) - 5/4
Cook County (2/21) - 3/4, 4/8
University of Maryland (2/21) - 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 6/1
University of Wisconsin (2/28) - 5/6, 5/13
University of Louisville (3/2) - 5/15, 6/12
UNC (3/4) - 6/8, 6/9
University of Nebraska (3/5) - 5/4, 5/18
University of Michigan (3/9) - 4/18
OHSU (3/10) - 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, 5/1, 5/8, 5/9, 6/5, 6/26, 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, 8/21
Rush (3/10, 3/26) - 5/2, 5/7, 5/28, 6/11
Medical College of Georgia (3/12) - 4/27, 5/4, 6/1
Virginia Mason (3/16) - 5/11, 5/18, 6/8
Northwestern (3/23) - 3/27, 4/3, 4/24 [all via phone]
Vanderbilt (3/24) - 5/15, 6/12, 6/19 [all virtual]
 
Please consider starting a new thread for discussions that, though relevant, don’t directly pertain to the fellowship application/interview process for this cycle.
 
Peterluger said:
Have you seen this website called gaswork? Well, on this website, there are still general anesthesia positions open in large metropolitan areas, some of them still offering $425,000 base salaries with $50,000 sign-on bonuses. And no, these aren’t old listings that they forgot to delete after the world ended a couple weeks ago. I mean you can speculate all day and kid yourself, or look at the reality on the ground. The reality is that elective procedures, especially Pain, are cancelled, period. And a recession is coming. On the other hand, in general anesthesia, it’s money making time.
Click to expand...

Gaswork is not a good website to gauge the market. I have co-residents who I graduated with who are getting their salaries cut right now, and many private practice groups are even considering laying off docs to make ends meet. That is the reality on the ground, ranging from people who are hospital employed and those who are in private practice groups. Basing the market on Gaswork is speculation. Pain docs can revert to seeing patients in clinic during an economic downturn, and the copay for injections is significantly less than for surgeries. When resources are still scarce, but elective procedures open back up, pain procedures require minimal resource consumption and are very quick to take on the backlog of patients. General anesthesia is still reliant on our surgical colleagues, and the bread and butter of anesthesia cases are.. womp womp... elective.

Neither field is doing great at the moment. Both will rebound in the future, there is no telling what the time line is.
 
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Has anyone have a list of common questions generally asked during these pain interviews? I tried doing some research didnt come up with much.
 
Anyone else feel like programs and applicants are going to go underfilled at high rates this year? Typically, even high end candidates can still only interview at 10-15 places based on their schedule/finances. Now, those folks can interview at 30 places if they wanted to. Programs that don't equally expand how many people they are interviewing will get left unmatched.

And then applicants that are used to getting second waves or second-tier program invites won't get them because they're all going to the high end applicant, leaving them unmatched as well.
 
camedstudent23 said:
Anyone else feel like programs and applicants are going to go underfilled at high rates this year? Typically, even high end candidates can still only interview at 10-15 places based on their schedule/finances. Now, those folks can interview at 30 places if they wanted to. Programs that don't equally expand how many people they are interviewing will get left unmatched.

And then applicants that are used to getting second waves or second-tier program invites won't get them because they're all going to the high end applicant, leaving them unmatched as well.
Click to expand...

My exact thoughts....hard to say how programs will adjust thier interview invities/initial screening.
 
camedstudent23 said:
Anyone else feel like programs and applicants are going to go underfilled at high rates this year? Typically, even high end candidates can still only interview at 10-15 places based on their schedule/finances. Now, those folks can interview at 30 places if they wanted to. Programs that don't equally expand how many people they are interviewing will get left unmatched.

And then applicants that are used to getting second waves or second-tier program invites won't get them because they're all going to the high end applicant, leaving them unmatched as well.
Click to expand...
Well it happens every year that programs waste time and interview clowns from out of state who will never move to where the interview is held. And that was before coronavirus and all the video interview crap. Can’t imagine too many people from outside NYC aka Corona City USA will be itching to move into NYC this July 1st. I guess we will see what happens July 2021
 
Abany Medical Center (1/9) - 5/8, 5/15, 6/26
UCLA David Geffen SOM (1/10) - 3/13, 3/25, 4/10
Allegheny (1/28) - 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 4/30, 5/7, 5/14
University of Kentucky (1/28) - 4/21,4/28,5/5,5/12
Emory University (2/3) - 3/22,5/17
UNM (2/5) - 3/27, 4/24, 5/8
Dartmouth (2/11) - 5/1, 5/8
UMMS-Baystate (2/13) - 6/18, 6/25, 7/16, 8/6, 8/13
Univ. of Buffalo (2/13) - 3/27
University of Kansas (2/18) - 5/4
Cook County (2/21) - 3/4, 4/8
University of Maryland (2/21) - 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 6/1
University of Wisconsin (2/28) - 5/6, 5/13
University of Louisville (3/2) - 5/15, 6/12
UNC (3/4) - 6/8, 6/9
University of Nebraska (3/5) - 5/4, 5/18
University of Michigan (3/9) - 4/18
OHSU (3/10) - 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, 5/1, 5/8, 5/9, 6/5, 6/26, 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, 8/21
Rush (3/10, 3/26) - 5/2, 5/7, 5/28, 6/11
Medical College of Georgia (3/12) - 4/27, 5/4, 6/1
Virginia Mason (3/16) - 5/11, 5/18, 6/8
Northwestern (3/23) - 3/27, 4/3, 4/24 [all via phone]
Vanderbilt (3/24) - 6/12, 6/19
UC Davis (4/4)-5/11,5/18, 6/1,6/2
 
Albany Medical Center (1/9) - 5/8, 5/15, 6/26
UCLA David Geffen SOM (1/10) - 3/13, 3/25, 4/10
Allegheny (1/28) - 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 4/30, 5/7, 5/14
University of Kentucky (1/28) - 4/21,4/28,5/5,5/12
Emory University (2/3, 4/6) - 3/22,5/17, 5/30, 6/14, 6/27
UNM (2/5) - 3/27, 4/24, 5/8
Dartmouth (2/11, 3/4) - 5/1, 5/8, 5/15, 6/1
UMMS-Baystate (2/13) - 6/18, 6/25, 7/16, 8/6, 8/13
Univ. of Buffalo (2/13) - 3/27
University of Kansas (2/18) - 5/4
Cook County (2/21) - 3/4, 4/8
University of Maryland (2/21) - 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 6/1
University of Wisconsin (2/28) - 5/6, 5/13
University of Louisville (3/2) - 5/15, 6/12
UNC (3/4) - 6/8, 6/9
University of Nebraska (3/5) - 5/4, 5/18
University of Michigan (3/9) - 4/18
OHSU (3/10) - 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, 5/1, 5/8, 5/9, 6/5, 6/26, 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, 8/21
Rush (3/10, 3/26) - 5/2, 5/7, 5/28, 6/11
Medical College of Georgia (3/12) - 4/27, 5/4, 6/1
UT Houston (3/13) - 5/30, 6/6
Virginia Mason (3/16) - 5/11, 5/18, 6/8
Wake Forest (3/22) - 4/4, 4/25
Northwestern (3/23) - 3/27, 4/3, 4/24 [all via phone]
Vanderbilt (3/24) - 6/12, 6/19
Mt. Sinai (3/27) - 7/31, 8/14, 8/28
UC Davis (4/4)-5/11,5/18, 6/1,6/2
 
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Albany Medical Center (1/9) - 5/8, 5/15, 6/26
UCLA David Geffen SOM (1/10) - 3/13, 3/25, 4/10
Allegheny (1/28) - 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 4/30, 5/7, 5/14
University of Kentucky (1/28) - 4/21,4/28,5/5,5/12
Emory University (2/3, 4/6) - 3/22,5/17, 5/30, 6/14, 6/27
UNM (2/5) - 3/27, 4/24, 5/8
Dartmouth (2/11, 3/4) - 5/1, 5/8, 5/15, 6/1
UMMS-Baystate (2/13) - 6/18, 6/25, 7/16, 8/6, 8/13
Univ. of Buffalo (2/13) - 3/27
University of Kansas (2/18) - 5/4
Cook County (2/21) - 3/4, 4/8
University of Maryland (2/21) - 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 6/1
University of Wisconsin (2/28) - 5/6, 5/13
University of Louisville (3/2) - 5/15, 6/12
UNC (3/4) - 6/8, 6/9
University of Nebraska (3/5) - 5/4, 5/18
University of Michigan (3/9) - 4/18
OHSU (3/10) - 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, 5/1, 5/8, 5/9, 6/5, 6/26, 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, 8/21
Rush (3/10, 3/26) - 5/2, 5/7, 5/28, 6/11
Medical College of Georgia (3/12) - 4/27, 5/4, 6/1
UT Houston (3/13) - 5/30, 6/6
Virginia Mason (3/16) - 5/11, 5/18, 6/8
Wake Forest (3/22) - 4/4, 4/25
Northwestern (3/23, 4/7) - 3/27, 4/3, 4/24 [all via phone]
Vanderbilt (3/24) - 6/12, 6/19
Mt. Sinai (3/27) - 7/31, 8/14, 8/28
UC Davis (4/4) - 5/11,5/18, 6/1,6/2
Mayo AZ (4/8) - 8/19, 8/21
UC Irvine (4/8) - 6/1, 6/5
UAB (4/8) - 5/26, 6/8
MGH (4/8) - 6/8, 7/13, 7/24
 
Hey y’all,

I’m a bit late to the party here but thought I’d join in. Applying from EM so I know my odds aren’t great. I have good scores, good LOR, and did a Pain rotation. Unfortunately I don’t really have anyone to advise me in this process.

So far I have 2 interviews that I got in mid-March, nothing since then. I applied to 80 programs, and about 20 have sent out invites thus far. At what point should I start to worry? Seeing that I was 0/4 for invites sent out today isn’t giving me a great feeling...
 
deadhead2 said:
Hey y’all,

I’m a bit late to the party here but thought I’d join in. Applying from EM so I know my odds aren’t great. I have good scores, good LOR, and did a Pain rotation. Unfortunately I don’t really have anyone to advise me in this process.

So far I have 2 interviews that I got in mid-March, nothing since then. I applied to 80 programs, and about 20 have sent out invites thus far. At what point should I start to worry? Seeing that I was 0/4 for invites sent out today isn’t giving me a great feeling...
Click to expand...

Isn't 2 at this point in time good? It looks like 30ish programs sent invites so far 1/3 of all programs. I am assuming it is still early given all the COVID. This is just my opinion though.
 
Yeah I would generally agree. I don’t think the usual timeline can be expected in the slightest at this point. Each program probably going by own priorities in these unique times I would assume.
 
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