Pain fellowship question

[justAstudent]

I am a CA-2 currently on my second week of chronic pain rotation. I had no intentions of going into this field but I am really enjoying my time on this rotation so far. Unfortunately my ITE scores aren’t the best and I don’t have any research under my belt at this point. Is a fellowship pretty much out of the question? Thanks in advance.

 

[GassYous]

I think you will be fine. Just get to know your faculty. Some of the people who end up in pain manage to do so with some major blemishes.

 

[dabears505]

Sometimes pain fellowship is actually a way to get out of anesthesia for weaker residents.

 

[Hoya11]

I am a CA-2 currently on my second week of chronic pain rotation. I had no intentions of going into this field but I am really enjoying my time on this rotation so far. Unfortunately my ITE scores aren’t the best and I don’t have any research under my belt at this point. Is a fellowship pretty much out of the question? Thanks in advance.

Most likely you will get in somewhere. Apply broadly.

I found that other things mattered much more than ITE scores.. like connections from your residency program, how many programs are in your region and how big are they, your home program ( if you have one) , letters of rec and no red flags, calls from chairman and chairman connections.

No fellowship is super super competitive in anesthesia. Pain can be a bit annoying because there are some areas of the country with very few spots to begin with. And those spots (say 2-3) can be taken up completely by their own residents. So if you dont have a home program, and the other programs in your area fill with their own residents, you can be out on your own a little bit to put yourself out there and find a program.

 

[Lecithin5]

Is pain even that competitive these days? Genuine question. When I applied years ago, it was, but these days with declining reimbursements and opioid headaches, perhaps less residents are interested? Fwiw, I never regretted doing the fellowship, even though I primarily practice general anesthesia these days.

 

[GassYous]

 

[deleted875186]

Is pain even that competitive these days? Genuine question. When I applied years ago, it was, but these days with declining reimbursements and opioid headaches, perhaps less residents are interested? Fwiw, I never regretted doing the fellowship, even though I primarily practice general anesthesia these days.

Yes it is competitive

 

[chudat]

Yes it is competitive

85%+ matched in most recent round....it's still mildy competitive i suppose

 

[Peterluger]

various forms of crackheads match, and then others with impeccable credentials don’t, so it’s very subjective. Hard to say if it’s “competitive” in a traditional sense