How many pain fellowships should I apply to?

[TheRoc]

Any recent pain fellows out there want to share how many fellowships they applied to (and/or how many you think is a reasonable number)? I'm mostly limited by geographic location, family, etc.

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[Medalot]

Any recent pain fellows out there want to share how many fellowships they applied to (and/or how many you think is a reasonable number)? I'm mostly limited by geographic location (not family, per se, but there are some areas I will not live in--NYC, Boston, LA, etc.) So far, I have 5 programs that I really like and are in good locations for me. That doesn't seem like a lot to me, but looking back on residency and even med school applications, I applied to waaaay too many programs. Any insight?

How badly do you want to do a pain fellowship next year? Apply to as many places that you have time for and are willing to go if matched. You can always turn down the interview. Everyone says pain fellowship is very competitive. With the match this year, you'll undoubtedly increase your chances of matching if you have more places to rank. Remember, a lot of programs may only have 1-2 spots. (I think it's not uncommon for some people to apply to 30-40 places and then eliminate less desirable interviews).

 

[PinchandBurn]

Any recent pain fellows out there want to share how many fellowships they applied to (and/or how many you think is a reasonable number)? I'm mostly limited by geographic location (not family, per se, but there are some areas I will not live in--NYC, Boston, LA, etc.) So far, I have 5 programs that I really like and are in good locations for me. That doesn't seem like a lot to me, but looking back on residency and even med school applications, I applied to waaaay too many programs. Any insight?

about 15

 

[lonelobo]

you must apply to 9

 

[lobelsteve]

In 1966, mathematician Paul Cooper theorized that the fastest, most efficient way to travel across continents would be to bore a straight hollow tube directly through the Earth, connecting a set of antipodes, remove the air from the tube and fall through.[7] The first half of the journey consists of free-fall acceleration, while the second half consists of an exactly equal deceleration. The time for such a journey works out to be 42 minutes. Even if the tube does not pass through the exact center of the Earth, the time for a journey powered entirely by gravity (known as a gravity train) always works out to be 42 minutes, so long as the tube remains friction-free, as while the force of gravity would be lessened, the distance traveled is reduced at an equal rate.[8][9] (The same idea was proposed, without calculation by Lewis Carroll in 1893 in Sylvie and Bruno Concluded.[10])

SO 42 is the best.

However:

De La Soul: " 3 is the magic number ". [YOUTUBE]www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Jcm800]

you must apply to 9

Sheeettt! you beat me to it. I was going to say 7

 

[Ducttape]

In 1966, mathematician Paul Cooper theorized that the fastest, most efficient way to travel across continents would be to bore a straight hollow tube directly through the Earth, connecting a set of antipodes, remove the air from the tube and fall through.[7] The first half of the journey consists of free-fall acceleration, while the second half consists of an exactly equal deceleration. The time for such a journey works out to be 42 minutes. Even if the tube does not pass through the exact center of the Earth, the time for a journey powered entirely by gravity (known as a gravity train) always works out to be 42 minutes, so long as the tube remains friction-free, as while the force of gravity would be lessened, the distance traveled is reduced at an equal rate.[8][9] (The same idea was proposed, without calculation by Lewis Carroll in 1893 in Sylvie and Bruno Concluded.[10])

SO 42 is the best.

However:

De La Soul: " 3 is the magic number ". [YOUTUBE]www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irL1M15DH8[/YOUTUBE]

In trurh, 42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything....

 

[clubdeac]

Depends on what your primary specialty is. If anesthesia then only 5. PMR then 25. Neurology 50 and if Psychiatry then 60

 

[SeniorWrangler]

Pain fellowships are pretty opaque in who they select and how they select them -- I think it's very easy to visit and interview at a program that would never take you but won't let you know that. So if you're really interested, apply at a bunch, including some programs that are less favored by the cool kids. Pain fellowship is only a year, you can live in the desert or the frigid wasteland for a year while you get your fellowship done. It's too late to make yourself a better candidate, so might as well send out a few more apps.