I went through the Cleveland Clinic program. It was great in terms of procedures - there is no shortage of tfesi, mnbb, rfa's, inb, sij. Within a month or two, those all became routine. There was also plenty of tec's sgb, lsb, celiac, trigeminals and splanchnics too. Every 3 weeks, each fellow would get a day in the OR...you'd get a full day of doing pumps and stims, so by the end of training I had implanted about 25 of each. There are some outstanding instructors [Stanton-Hicks, Kapural, Basali, Narouze to name but a few], and once you get to know them, they prove to be great mentors and very personable. While they do expect you to work hard [slackers will be eaten ALIVE], they do take pride in teaching, and afford you as much independence as you can handle. They also are not afraid to show up after the day is done, and buy the fellows a round of drinks. Another bonus - there is a lot to be said for Cleveland Clinic name recognition, especially when you are trying to land that first job. However, there were some down sides. There was no formal didactic teaching, you're expected to read on your own...sink or swim when it comes to passing the boards, you need the discipline to organize and stick to a study schedule. Also, the call schedule is tough...you are the scut monkey. The fellow takes overnight call in house, holds the pager for both the acute and chronic service, and spends the whole day and night sevicing upto 60 epidurals and nerve catheters, answering after hour phone calls from patients, and dealing with the frequent flier chronic pain patients in the ER. This was a couple of years ago, so this situation may have changed, where the fellow may serve an "advisory" role to the resident, but check this out to be sure. You have 3 weeks of electives, which is not nearly enough to round out your knowledge.
Since I left, there has been some turnover. One of the Cleveland Clinic faculty, Salim Hayek, is now the chairman of the Pain Department at University Hospital at Case Western University...just down the street from the Clinic. Also, two of the fellows I trained with at the Clinic [both of whom have solid skills and who enjoy teaching motivated residents / fellows] have also joined University. Dr. Hayek is a great mentor, he'll bring treamendous energy to Case Western. This program is going to be a shining star very quickly....
If you're looking for strong pain programs....Cleveland is a great place to consider.
