Pain Fellowship application

[244913]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I am a CA-2 Anesthesiology resident at a decent program looking to apply for pain fellowships this spring. Unfortunately my program has not sent anyone to pain in years and the local fellowship is run by PM&R.

Would someone please clue me in to the specifics of applying? I understand it is a match now, in October of CA-3 year. Does each program have a different application deadline? When do you have to have applications complete, on average? Should I just go onto FREIDA and look at application requirements for each program or is there a centralized, ERAS-like process?

I'm sorry for having such elementary questions- not getting a lot of guidance from my home program.

Thanks in advance, PM's welcome.

- ex 61N

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[Orin]

Sure,

You'll be in the third year of the match, though there are a few places that go outside the match still.
Each program has a different deadline with the West coast generally being earlier than the East coast.
Some programs don't look at things until the deadline, some roll with it as applications come in, so it probably helps to be on the earlier side to be safe.

There is no centralized ERAS style-application, though some programs use a common app which you can download off their website. I prefered the ACGME system to FREIDA because of my feelings about the AMA, but whatever works. Link to that below if you haven't used it before.

https://www.acgme.org/ads/public

It is a lot of organizational stuff to deal with once you make the list of programs you want to apply to, as the lack of a common application or an ERAS like system makes things tough.

My order of operations would be to:
1. Make a list of programs from above
2. Collate requirements from the programs
2b. Identify programs which need official copies of transcripts, etc, so that you can pull all that together or cut them off your list.
2.c. Identify letter writers meeting the different requirements as some want Pain Division, some want Dept Chair, some want Residency Director, etc.
2.c.1. Make list of where those letters are going and if they can be emailed or if they need to be mailed.
3. Send in applications
4. Verify with admins that they have your complete application.
5. Pray/beg/steal for interviews.

Good luck.

 

[Agast]

The above link is a really good way of seeing what programs are in each state, but also how many fellowship spots they are approved for. You might not want to spend time and money on a program that only has 2 fellowship spots, for example. In general, you will need 3 letters of recommendation and some require that one is from the program director. The most complicated application I had to complete wanted a copy of my MD diploma, med school transcripts, Dean's Letter, intern year certificate....really a lot to coordinate. Make spreadsheets.

Please when you write a personal statement about wanting to go into Pain, don't spend a lot of time talking about what Pain Medicine is or what it can accomplish. That's a rut a lot of people fall into. Pain docs already know what's up. Make the personal statement about you and what you specifically can bring to the table as a fellow, as a doctor, as a colleague.

 

[No Pain All gain]

Sure,

You'll be in the third year of the match, though there are a few places that go outside the match still.
Each program has a different deadline with the West coast generally being earlier than the East coast.
Some programs don't look at things until the deadline, some roll with it as applications come in, so it probably helps to be on the earlier side to be safe.

There is no centralized ERAS style-application, though some programs use a common app which you can download off their website. I prefered the ACGME system to FREIDA because of my feelings about the AMA, but whatever works. Link to that below if you haven't used it before.

https://www.acgme.org/ads/public

It is a lot of organizational stuff to deal with once you make the list of programs you want to apply to, as the lack of a common application or an ERAS like system makes things tough.

My order of operations would be to:
1. Make a list of programs from above
2. Collate requirements from the programs
2b. Identify programs which need official copies of transcripts, etc, so that you can pull all that together or cut them off your list.
2.c. Identify letter writers meeting the different requirements as some want Pain Division, some want Dept Chair, some want Residency Director, etc.
2.c.1. Make list of where those letters are going and if they can be emailed or if they need to be mailed.
3. Send in applications
4. Verify with admins that they have your complete application.
5. Pray/beg/steal for interviews.

Good luck.

This is a very good order of operations. A few things to add to be successful:
+ Apply early - you want to be the first application in the stack. I had a co-resident who had similar credentials as I did but applied a few months later. Some programs that granted me an interview sent him a "too late" e-mail.
+ Regardless of what the program asks for, create a electronic set of all your documents and send that in as well.
+ Be persistent when following up with admins. E-mail, then call. It took a number of attempts to ensure my application was complete. Be really nice even though it can be frustrating!
+ I cannot stress enough the importance of requesting your LORs early. Like around Thanksgiving of CA-2 year. This means that your CV and your personal statement should be good to go so that you can provide them to your letter writers.

 

[244913]

The above link is a really good way of seeing what programs are in each state, but also how many fellowship spots they are approved for. You might not want to spend time and money on a program that only has 2 fellowship spots, for example. In general, you will need 3 letters of recommendation and some require that one is from the program director. The most complicated application I had to complete wanted a copy of my MD diploma, med school transcripts, Dean's Letter, intern year certificate....really a lot to coordinate. Make spreadsheets.

Please when you write a personal statement about wanting to go into Pain, don't spend a lot of time talking about what Pain Medicine is or what it can accomplish. That's a rut a lot of people fall into. Pain docs already know what's up. Make the personal statement about you and what you specifically can bring to the table as a fellow, as a doctor, as a colleague.

Thanks for the advice. Question- I went to the above website and searched programs by specialty and got the 33 page list, but I do not see number of fellows for each program listed anywhere, just whether the program is run by Anesthesiology or Pain Mgmt.

 

[Agast]

Thanks for the advice. Question- I went to the above website and searched programs by specialty and got the 33 page list, but I do not see number of fellows for each program listed anywhere, just whether the program is run by Anesthesiology or Pain Mgmt.

You're looking at the Reports: List of programs by specialty. Above that is a link "program search" and that sends you to a clickable list with more details about accreditation history etc. for each program.

 

[IgM]

Question re: what the competition is like out there: ITE scores, research, etc? Is it more common than not to have great scores, good research? Being in the middle of Ca2 and having taken the new board exam a few months ago, I can say I have not done much besides show up to work and then head to the library after, spend some time with my kids in between. Not a lot to show in terms of special extracurricular stuff.

 

[soccerpunk600]

Sure,


There is no centralized ERAS style-application, though some programs use a common app which you can download off their website. I prefered the ACGME system to FREIDA because of my feelings about the AMA, but whatever works. Link to that below if you haven't used it before.



Good luck.

Sorry for a stupid question, but I"m a bit confused. Going on the ERAS website, it appears to me there are multiple (most) programs that do take the ERAS style application. Is that the common app you're referring to?
https://services.aamc.org/eras/erasstats/par/display8.cfm?NAV_ROW=PAR&SPEC_CD=530

 

[Orin]

Sorry for a stupid question, but I"m a bit confused. Going on the ERAS website, it appears to me there are multiple (most) programs that do take the ERAS style application. Is that the common app you're referring to?
https://services.aamc.org/eras/erasstats/par/display8.cfm?NAV_ROW=PAR&SPEC_CD=530

Yeah, so that is "New for ERAS 2015"

You guys are in luck and this should make applying to the participating pain programs in the country much easier. Of course this means you'll likely have more competition now for those spots...

 

[soccerpunk600]

It appears December 1st is the first time we can submit the ERAS...previously applications would normally be sent in the spring time (from what i've heard). Does anyone know a good time to submit? is it earlier the better, or will it not matter initially since program won't probably start reviewing until the spring?

 

[Quito]

Did anyone submit there ERAS 2015 application yet? Anyone heard from any of the programs after submitting?

 

[unchockey21]

Did anyone submit there ERAS 2015 application yet? Anyone heard from any of the programs after submitting?

A co-resident said he doubted most programs would even look at the applications until after the new year since that's the timeframe they're used to working on. I don't think he heard that anywhere. Just conjecture on his part but who knows. I'll have everything finalized next week but I just wanted to get it done before I started hearts.

 

[Ooglan]

..

 

[Quito]

Has anyone heard from any of the programs after submitting the ERAS application?

 

[Polynikes]

I submitted mine a few days ago, but I'm still waiting on two of my letters to be uploaded. I got an email today from a program asking me if I still in the process of adding my LORs, so that tells me at least one program is already looking at applications.

I am not sure if I'm alone in this, but the information about the change to ERAS did not seem to get disseminated very well, and most programs still have old application requirements on their department pages. That makes things very confusing. So, aside from ERAS, you still have to submit the UPA, which is essentially the same information on your ERAS application, so I'm not sure why you have to do both.

 

[unchockey21]

I am not sure if I'm alone in this, but the information about the change to ERAS did not seem to get disseminated very well, and most programs still have old application requirements on their department pages. That makes things very confusing. So, aside from ERAS, you still have to submit the UPA, which is essentially the same information on your ERAS application, so I'm not sure why you have to do both.

Definitely agree. Very confusing regarding who wants what. Some programs have said all they need is the ERAS app, others have asked for ITE scores sent separately. I've basically given up looking at their webpages and have just started calling each program directly. But I'm not even sure if the programs themselves know what the need. I called one program and they asked for ITEs to be sent in too but then gave me directions for sending in my LORs and USMLEs as well. They seemed surprised when I told them the USMLEs and LORs were included in the ERAS app.

 

[Ooglan]

..

 

[newbie04]

Any programs sending out invites to interview yet?

 

[244913]

Any programs sending out invites to interview yet?

Honestly I think most programs haven't even begun to review applications yet. I applied to about 35 programs in December via both ERAS and website requirements and have only had an acknowledgement email from about 2/3 of them, if that.

I don't think we'll be seeing interview invites until April/May at the earliest.

Just my .02 cents

- ex 61N