Pain Fellowship 2014 Ranking: Pluses & Minuses

[AnesthUWvsOHSU]

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The internet lacks any real ranking (if such a thing is possible) of pain fellowships, figured we could work together to create a list of the programs on the West Coast, Mid-West, South, East Coast with some detail about each. Here's the ones I know: (please try to follow same format as below)

**UCSD
-Plus: Amazing research, world-renown faculty particularly Dr. Mark Wallace. LOTS of procedures. San Diego is amazing. Probably strongest program on West Coast.
-Minus: 3 sites, VA, UCSD, and Hillcrest, so potentially some traffic issues.

**UTAH
-Plus: Amazing palliative/cancer experience, lots of intrathecal pumps. SUPER friendly faculty, easier call schedule. Salt Lake is beautiful.
-Minus: not too procedural, very medical.

 

[jj337]

Unless you have a strong slant for palliative care, UCSD sounds like a much better situation. Three sites is not bad and can provide a good range of attendings with differing view points. I was at UTSW and had 3 sites which really helped my training... VA, private, and academic - similar to UCSD.

Managing pumps takes serious patience and love... and I have neither

 

[oreosandsake]

a few more

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/pain-fellowship-reviews.144647/

 

[lord_jeebus]

As a graduate of the UCSD program, I wouldn't worry too much about the 3 sites. The VA hospital is on the UCSD campus, and you only need to be at both locations when there are grand rounds at UCSD followed by a procedure day at the VA. The hospital at Hillcrest is admittedly further away, but our only involvement there is inpatient consults when you are on call (10-11 weeks out of the year), which don't happen every day, and are sometimes covered by one of the attendings who rounds there at least twice a week. It is an annoyance (likely the biggest annoyance of the whole program), but a small factor in the grand scheme of things.

 

[iwumd07]

Any comments on UCSF's program? Cedars Sinai?