Pain Fellowship Reviews

[Ligament]

Very interesting stories about Dr. Cahana. I am a Pain Medicine attending in downtown Seattle and have not heard anything like this in the community.

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[foxtrot]

Very interesting stories about Dr. Cahana. I am a Pain Medicine attending in downtown Seattle and have not heard anything like this in the community.

That does not surprise me. Often times, those in positions of power treat people who are "below them" on the totem pole much differently than they treat others who they have no power over.

 

[rockypain]

Hi, I have heard great things about Pain Fellowship at Case Western Hospital Cleveland. Some fellows rate it among top 10 in US. At their website they mention that a fellow does 100-175 procedures/month. I met one of their fellow in a conference and she told me that she has done 60 spinal cord stim, many discography and vertebroplasty during her fellowship.
Any comments?

 

[ultm8frisbee]

Cornell Interview Experience
Just came back from my interview at the Tri-institute/Cornell Pain Fellowship and I'd like to share my experience.
First of all the interview day was well organized and effecient, we had iteneraries sent to us several weeks in advance, and they stuck to it to a tee. (there was one applicant who had to finish his interviews after the tour, but they squeezed him in right after and it didn't appear to delay him at all). We were all given the opportunity to attend grand rounds at 730. They brought in a neurosurgeon who was heavily involved in neuromodulation. After grandrounds we had a formal introduction to the program by the Assman and breakfast before half of us broke up for interviews and the other half broke up for interviews. Interviews were very laid back (6 in total) with equal representation from MSK, HSS, and NYP/ Cornell.*
The tour was the highlight of the day, the three institutions are rich in history, and coming from the middle of no-where Midwest, very interesting. The guide/Assman does a great job of adding little nuggets about NYC during the tour as well. The interview day wrapped up around 3.
Strengths of the program are being able to rotate at three very distinguished and different institutions. If your interested in oncological exposure (as I am), the experience at MSK is hard to match, two months of elective time ( you can even arrange elective time at a different institution if you wish), and the faculty's desire to continually improve the fellowship. The fellows didn't seem overworked and they have residents and NP's to help take a majority of the call.
Weaknesses: nothing glaring, HSS is run in a private practice model with a fare share of VIP's, so fellows don't get a crack at everything that comes there. As far as implants and stims, they seemed to do a fair number at Cornell, a few when at HSS, and a neurosurgeon does the actual implants at MSK (the fellows mentioned that they had the opportunity to scrub in on those)
Overall Impression: this program provides great training, good name, and great location. I've interviewed at BID and Brighams, which I also really liked, but would give the edge to Cornell based on my experience. They seemed to be up front about the program and where honest about their timeframe on making decisions. PM if you have any Q's.

 

[olafa]

Come to find out NRH/ Washington Hospital- DC didn't take fellows last year or also this year. Not sure what the deal is but they were still on the freida website as accepting applications for 2010??

 

[rockypain]

I think Cornell is the worst training program in NY. Undoubtedly, It has great name but this tri-institute thing sucks.

Saloan Memorial: No interventional stuff

HSS: they have their own non-accredited fellowship which is really competitive and their own fellows do major interventional stuff.

Cornell: good teaching wise but their ortho, neurosurgery and radiology depts are so strong that you cant even think about vertebro/kypho, spinal cord stim and discography.

previous fellows have very poor repute in private practices.
if you want to go to academics, this is the "best" program.

 

[TheAssMan]

I think Cornell is the worst training program in NY. Undoubtedly, It has great name but this tri-institute thing sucks.

Saloan Memorial: No interventional stuff

HSS: they have their own non-accredited fellowship which is really competitive and their own fellows do major interventional stuff.

Cornell: good teaching wise but their ortho, neurosurgery and radiology depts are so strong that you cant even think about vertebro/kypho, spinal cord stim and discography.

previous fellows have very poor repute in private practices.
if you want to go to academics, this is the "best" program.

1. What happened to you? Who got you angry?
2. Is it because we did not take you?
3. Your facts are wrong and any one who has interviewed or trained with us (in the last 3 years) will tell you otherwise.

WHat you say would be true > 5 years ago, but not now.

 

[rockypain]

Dear Assman, you sound irritated and annoyed. Everyone has the right to express his/her feelings. If I am wrong, you would have proved it with statistics. Could you kindly tell us,

1. What kind of and how many procedures, a fellow does on average during entire fellowship?
2. Where do you rank your program in comparison to, for example St. Luke Roosevelt, Hospital of Special Surgery/non-accredited program, Univ of Buffalo and Sunny upstate? (remember, I am only limited to NY, otherwise outside NY, you have no rating at allllllllllllllllll.)
3. I don't want to be personal, otherwise I would have told you, what are my credentials and where I am doing pain fellowship.
4. You are a good person, however you have a terrible sense of humor and waste a hell of time showing Manhattan gardens and long walk.

regards,

Rocky

 

[TheAssMan]

Dear Assman, you sound irritated and annoyed. Everyone has the right to express his/her feelings. If I am wrong, you would have proved it with statistics. Could you kindly tell us,

1. What kind of and how many procedures, a fellow does on average during entire fellowship?
2. Where do you rank your program in comparison to, for example St. Luke Roosevelt, Hospital of Special Surgery/non-accredited program, Univ of Buffalo and Sunny upstate? (remember, I am only limited to NY, otherwise outside NY, you have no rating at allllllllllllllllll.)
3. I don't want to be personal, otherwise I would have told you, what are my credentials and where I am doing pain fellowship.
4. You are a good person, however you have a terrible sense of humor and waste a hell of time showing Manhattan gardens and long walk.

regards,

Rocky

I think you are being a bit harsh and overly judgmental and really not fair. I did not mean to get personal. We are a good program (at least several have told us so and many of our fellows in practice have said they were well trained) but we may not be the best program for everyone-however we are honest about that. My point is that you are making statements about our program without ever having been in it. Likewise, I am am in no position to comment on the other programs. We are a committed group and have worked hard to develop a good program to benefit our trainees.

In terms of our stats:
http://analgesia.home.att.net/timbo.html (last tab).

 

[inpain4ever]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. That is what makes a message board constructive and educational. Of course, we must take everything with a grain of salt when people make anonymous comments. But, again, if anyone takes a comment from some anonymous poster as the "bible", then perhaps you aren't as smart as you think you are.

Unfortunately for "TheAssMan", you are not an anonymous user. Thus, as your identity is readily apparent, you are held to a higher standard. You represent your institution. While I don't agree with the original poster's comment, your response seems childish and petty for someone in your position.

1. What happened to you? Who got you angry?
2. Is it because we did not take you?
3. Your facts are wrong and any one who has interviewed or trained with us (in the last 3 years) will tell you otherwise.

WHat you say would be true > 5 years ago, but not now.

 

[TheAssMan]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. That is what makes a message board constructive and educational. Of course, we must take everything with a grain of salt when people make anonymous comments. But, again, if anyone takes a comment from some anonymous poster as the "bible", then perhaps you aren't as smart as you think you are.

Unfortunately for "TheAssMan", you are not an anonymous user. Thus, as your identity is readily apparent, you are held to a higher standard. You represent your institution. While I don't agree with the original poster's comment, your response seems childish and petty for someone in your position.

I did and do apologize for getting personal-I am simply protective of our program. And you are correct I am held to a higher standard and I was out of line.

 

[ultm8frisbee]

I think Cornell is the worst training program in NY. Undoubtedly, It has great name but this tri-institute thing sucks.

Saloan Memorial: No interventional stuff

HSS: they have their own non-accredited fellowship which is really competitive and their own fellows do major interventional stuff.

Cornell: good teaching wise but their ortho, neurosurgery and radiology depts are so strong that you cant even think about vertebro/kypho, spinal cord stim and discography.

previous fellows have very poor repute in private practices.
if you want to go to academics, this is the "best" program.

Rocky,
As someone who recently interviewed at Cornell, I have to tell you I got a totally different impression. Although I respect your right to your own opinion, your review is really just inflammatory and I don't know what your agenda is. To get on a public forum and just say a place "sucks" in broken english and to speak on the reputation of former fellows, is really not what this forum is about. People can get a lot of good info on here, your posts really haven't added anything, just stirring the pot. My two cents.

 

[sweetalkr]

i am working on a review of the 6 or 7 programs I interviewed at, and although cornell was not the perfect fit for me, it was a very impressive training program if you were looking for a true multidisciplinary program in nyc. i think rocky was rejected from cornell and a bit angry.

as for theassman, that interview tour was probably the most entertaining one I have had, including all my residency ones. (except for the one residency interview where everyone got drunk at dinner). Theassman and all of the cornell attendings were very pro-fellows and were constantly trying to improve their program. I am at a training program where the chairman is the same way, and I can spot a program that is trying to improve for the better from a mile away. RockyPain, please troll somewhere else or give an honest critical review.

my reviews of the training programs will come in the next day or so.

 

[rockypain]

Well, have a look at the statistics, mentioned by Assman and compare it to any other program, you will know the difference.
People from mountains and jungles of Midwest and South are impressed by Manhattan and "tri-institute" thing.
You will never see any resident from top notch program in this fellowship.
Either their own residents or people from backyard programs, and I am sure those are the one, more pissed off.

If you have courage then go and compare what Roosevelt or univ of Buffalo fellows do and then come back and write here, otherwise stay "happy"

what is this inferiority complex that Harvard, John Hopkins, Roosevelt or univ of Buffalo invite 3-4 interviewees per position and Cornell 30-40 per position.
This is a wastage of time.
come up with answer, not bull ****.

 

[Jeff05]

to my knowledge, tri-institute (HSS is one of the "institutes") fellows rotate through HSS - they are THE HSS pain fellows, so they get TONS of procedures.

chair of cornell and another senior faculty member were surgeons before doing anes/pain, so they do lots of stims and other advanced interventional procedures.


rockypain, your information is clearly outdated.

 

[sweetalkr]

Well, have a look at the statistics, mentioned by Assman and compare it to any other program, you will know the difference.
People from mountains and jungles of Midwest and South are impressed by Manhattan and "tri-institute" thing.
You will never see any resident from top notch program in this fellowship.
Either their own residents or people from backyard programs, and I am sure those are the one, more pissed off.

If you have courage then go and compare what Roosevelt or univ of Buffalo fellows do and then come back and write here, otherwise stay "happy"

what is this inferiority complex that Harvard, John Hopkins, Roosevelt or univ of Buffalo invite 3-4 interviewees per position and Cornell 30-40 per position.
This is a wastage of time.
come up with answer, not bull ****.

brigham/woman has same amount of spots as cornell and interviewed same amount of people, if not more. i interviewed both places so i know. and both are very strong programs. please stop making this thread worthless with your senseless remarks

. I used this forum tremendously in my pain fellowship search. if you don't like cornell's program, then just don't apply and move on in life dude. put a review of the other programs you interviewed at, otherwise put objective info so other applicants can make their decision about the program.

 

[No Pain is Gain]

brigham/woman has same amount of spots as cornell and interviewed same amount of people, if not more. i interviewed both places so i know. and both are very strong programs. please stop making this thread worthless with your senseless remarks

. I used this forum tremendously in my pain fellowship search. if you don't like cornell's program, then just don't apply and move on in life dude. put a review of the other programs you interviewed at, otherwise put objective info so other applicants can make their decision about the program.

Do you find it very hard to tolerate criticism even if it was constructive?
Do you hate to be criticized?

I dont think that rockypain is absolutely wrong.
I interviewed at Cornell in 2007 and at that time out of total 8 fellows, 5 were "Patels". Am I right Dr. AssMan? please tell me.
Is it a coincidence that PD and associate PD were "DESI" and more than 60% of fellows were also "DESI"?

OR OR OR

"Patels" were the most genius and indispensible among all other candidates and the program chose them?

OR OR OR

No good candidate chose the program and "Patels" were the left over?

Whatever is the answer, didnt leave good impression at least on our batch.

I believe you AssMan that you are straight forward person and may be the program has been improved now but I always had this question in my mind. Please dont take me wrong.

Good Luck to your program.

 

[TheAssMan]

Do you find it very hard to tolerate criticism even if it was constructive?
Do you hate to be criticized?

I dont think that rockypain is absolutely wrong.
I interviewed at Cornell in 2007 and at that time out of total 8 fellows, 5 were "Patels". Am I right Dr. AssMan? please tell me.
Is it a coincidence that PD and associate PD were "DESI" and more than 60% of fellows were also "DESI"?

OR OR OR

"Patels" were the most genius and indispensible among all other candidates and the program chose them?

OR OR OR

No good candidate chose the program and "Patels" were the left over?

Whatever is the answer, didnt leave good impression at least on our batch.

I believe you AssMan that you are straight forward person and may be the program has been improved now but I always had this question in my mind. Please dont take me wrong.

Good Luck to your program.

Actually in 2007, there were 5 Indian Americans (I happen to be one as well), of which 3 were Patels. Not intentional, just worked out that way-trust me it messes up a rotation schedule with 3 Patels. In reality, there appear to be a plethora of Indians in pain in general as Attendings.

It really has little to do with the PD being Indian (he is acutally not DESI strictly speaking, but I am-however I am called coconut [white on the inside] as my wife is Irish and I know little of Indian culture). And there are numerous other attendings interviewing who are "white." The votes are equally distributed and no one (like the PD) can insist on any applicant being accepted.

The very next class had only 1 Indian (+3 blacks and 3 Asians and 1 Kazak though-perhaps because of Obama?)-the 1 Indian happened to also be a Cornell resident.

This year, we have only 2 "DESI" (1 of whom was Cornell resident). In fact, if you look at the cross section of applications, there is a preponderance of Indians, but we deny interviews to a large part of them as well. Being a NY program, with many applicants from the NY area (including NJ) means we will have a stilted application pool. So, I fully understand the impression you got-in fact we even joked about it, but it has not been consistent nor intentional. 2007 was the second year of our merger (NYH and MSK) and many of our applicants were referrals from previous graduated fellows. Feel free to ask if you have further questions.

BTW, we also attract a large number of unmarried applicants (we are NYC). You could Ding us for taking too many Cornell residents (each year 4 of 8 spots have gone to them), but we are not the only program like that. In fact we actively discussed limiting it to 2 in the future as we felt it unfair to outside applicants (we woudl not permit > 4 in teh past). This year at least 7 will be non-Cornell, many likely from outside the NYC region-we are not done with all of our offers-so can not give you final numbers.

 

[gandhi]

guy any one interviewed here, , one fellows dropped before start, 2 dropped after 1 mth and 2 mths, started a new pain clinic, dream to make it bonica days ,they might get there soon

looks like people dont get along well in this program, lot of power struggle, this is only from reading reviews and word

is this what you want in life !

no politics, honesty,objective data and your impression

please feel free to pm me , we may not know most of the story but we can help some one make a better choice

 

[sweetalkr]

Before I post my reviews, I was looking for a very interventional fellowship that was in a great city to live in for a single guy. I did interview at Texas tech solely because it is regarded as the most interventional along with cleveland clinic.

UC Davis - this was months ago. The attendings are multidisciplinary, and they were very enthusiastic and helpful. Fishman is there, who is big politically (I liked that). The fellows did say that they lacked in SCS placements, but an attending wrote a book on stims and was ramping up the program; paul kreis i believe. you get your bread/butter procedures, but not as many advanced. i personally know a fellow who graduated, and landed a great job in PP. Fellows said there was too much didactics (daily for 1 hour) and a lecture every few weeks. overall 6.5/10. docked for not so interventional and not aggressive enough for me. but fellows landed jobs and could moonlight. also 20 minutes from napa valley. attendings were very nice, non-malignant. 6.6666/10


U Pitt - also months ago for me. 9 fellows, large program, take int med, psych residents, etc. very multidisciplinary, not as interventional, but a true academic program. a great place to train if you truly want multidisciplinary and want academics in the future. I felt like there was not enough chance to speak with fellows. Good program, but not for me. 6/10 because not interventional, and fellows complained about certain months not being procedure oriented and doing a lot of psych/pmr. also, the city was not for me. Plus doris cope and some other guy interviewing me were not friendly to me (interview tactics?). they questioned a grade i got in a class at med school

but great lunch at this awesome country club! 6/10

UC Irvine - I only had 4 hours at the institution and never met a fellow. I never felt like I knew what the program was about. very young staff and a lot of turnover. They spoke a great game, but they never responded to thank you cards or follow up phone call. Borderline shady.. No score because I still don't know what the program is about and have not heard a word from residents or fellows. no moonlighting. I did hear that they took strictly internal fellows every year, or at least someone from the orange county/LA area? I don't know why they would interview outsiders then. N/a/10

Northwestern - amazing location, beautiful clinic, great attendings, but it did seem like volume of more advanced procedures was lacking. Neurosurg did the intrathecal pumps, and stims numbered maybe 3-4 per fellow over the year. great hours per the fellows, i forgot about their didactics, eager, young attendings. they had one new guy (that was indian *GASP* in response to indians in pain medicine) that was from B&W that was really nice and was doing advanced cancer pain procedures. a few attendings if not most were fellows at northwestern, and the guys from there loved it. they were a very friendly program, multidisciplinary, but did not do pumps (neursurg) or many stims. they did do watercooled RFA's, but the fellows had a list of the high-end procedures and who gets the next one. to me, it meant they needed more. If they could increase their numbers, this would have been perfect. 7.5/10.

Brigham & Woman's - great name (Harvard); it actually made my mom smile. honestly, the attendings were very disorganized in the rooms, which was a slight turn off. messy rooms, papers, etc. like the mad scientist. but nice people. the fellows were super happy. 1:8 weeks of call, and a lot of moonlighting opportunities. they seemed pretty aggressive interventionally from what i understand. i remember that each pain attending had their own niche, which was great. the facilities were a bit removed from the main B&W hospital area, which was a bit concerning. it may be easier to be at the main campus for pt access, but im not the CEO so whatever. besides the rude taxi driver i had, very pleasant experience. they weren't making a decision until october 15th, and although they had very positive words for me and told me i should hold out, i had an outstanding offer at tx tech, northwestern, and was being considered at cornell. I did not want to wait until october. plus a few head hunters (great resources btw) told me that tx tech was more highly regarded in private practice jobs than BW, and they still had to compete with MGH and BID within the city. 8.5/10 (some applicants claimed they lied how interventional they were?? didn't see that, but docked them 0.5 points just in case) strong program for cancer pain, along with cornell and MD anderson from what i hear

Cornell - Weird that a few people made new usernames just to trash this program. As a heads up, I was being considered for a position and I asked them not to because I accepted elsewhere, and i have no reason to spare words, so I won't. This program is in i think east side of manhattan. hands down i love NYC, im single, and it was amazing. the facilities are gorgeous and new (at least the cornell building). the fellows all were up front. you do work "harder" on the weekends than other programs. the attendings were mainly anesthesia (which i liked), and you rotated at 3 hospitals: HSS, cornell, and sloan-kettering. it is very interventional at cornell, medium at HSS, and much less at sloan-kettering. the one downside is the 3 month stint at sloan-kettering because those are 3 months you don't do as much advanced. awesome point - only program i interviewed at that offers 6 weeks of electives to do anywhere in the country or in any department, including radiology, etc.. i think that was a huge selling point, and that single-handedly almost changed my mind. the only negative thing to me (again you can guess after reading my other reviews) was that it was not as interventional as texas tech. Honestly, it was my favorite program and my heart was there, but after talking to my closest medical colleague who practicees pain in Florida, the reputation of texas tech is so strong in the private practice world that i could not pass up the offer there. so my heart is at cornell, but my head took my to texas tech. the fellows were very happy, u get a sweet studio in manhattan for 900 or 1400$ a month, dpending on the building (and trust me thats dirt cheap). you can not moonlight. they had the interview on a grand rounds day, and apparently had big dogs coming to lecture frequently. Great program for Cancer pain if you are looking for that also, and very strong for future academics, just like B&W. (8.5/10)

Texas Tech - to me, perfect program if in another city. didactics 1-2/week, moonlighting opportunities during the week or weekends with lots of $, attendings are very well known and highly aggressive (Day, Boswell, Racz), very busy clinic with 50-60 pts/day and mainly procedures, new facilities, very fellow-oriented, chances to be involved in national organizations, but it is in Lubbock. beautiful college women, but i sort of do want an educated lot of women around me. oh well. i am going here. apparently the fellows are 100% hands on day 1. they give you the anesthesia boards days off in addition to vacation. call is one in every 5 weeks (for the five fellows), very very affordable city obviously, and they do procedures here they do nowhere else. Day is a guru of facial pain, boswell is huge in journals and committees, and Racz is Racz. he has his own freakin procedure! he pimped me on it on the interview and i didn't realize it was his procedure for a minute

astute. anyway, they offer a January or July start as chosen by the top 2 choices to the program. I currently chose July, but i am strongly contemplating a january start, locums for 2 months, travel for 3-4 months. but I haven't decided. i don't know if that will affect my job hunt later on. but i am excited! 9/10. I may hire a moving company and pick up this program and drop it in miami beach!

note - i skipped UCSF because a friend/resident there said no one in their program applied to the pain program. important or not, it scared me.

PM with any questions only when applications go out (3 months) only because i am swamped with ASA and political stuff coming up.
If you haven't joined the ASA and donated to the ASAPAC< don't talk to me.

also if anyone knows which pain organization is most politically active, let me know. I want to join and donate now! You guys need to also with the political climate as it is.

 

[NO 2 PAIN]

I Think Indian pain doctors especially PATELS are good... See the list of ASRA directors

 

[sweetalkr]

isn't race a moot point after obama got elected. seriously, it's your diagnostic skills, bedside manner, and hand dexterity, not your skin color.

 

[SleepIsGood]

Dartmouth-Great program. Feels very "comfy". Nice facilities...I believe 3 residents. The city however is in the middle of no where. In terms of interventions....they do do them. Volume is pretty low though in terms of interventions.

Yale-New program. They have a close relationship with the VA system. They have a new attending from Brigham. VERY VERY nice people. The biggest plus is the VA and the potential to do procedures. At this time not interventional, however, things may change with the new Brigham guy.

Hopkins- Great name. Baltimore is ok. Obviously some big names like Cohen. Their pain clinc directr (Hurley) left. Forgot the name of the guy tht took over for him. Talked to fellows...they weren't very happy. Since Hurley left, intervention drastically decreased apparently.

Stanford-Beautiful city. GORGEOUS. Campus and facilities are amazing. This program is very research oriented. Multi-disc approach is present. Advanced procedures....stims, vert, kypho is minimal. They make no qualms about letting you know that it's not an interventional program. Residents work hard, but love it. Great name.


Cleveland Clinic--lots of FMGs. Yes good name. However, I think it's very easy to get lost in the shuffle. They are doing some stuff with ultrasound,etc. Probably the best program in the midwest.

Brigham/Harvard--- 12/10. Probably the BEST program. Great name and reputation. Produced some of the biggest names in Pain Medicine...Ray Sinatra, Ferrante, PD at Dartmouth, the list goes on. Great people. Amazing people. Probably the most interventional program. Apparently one of their attendings...yes just ONE does close to 300 stims a year. Great research/academic facilites. Harvards Cancer Center, the Dana Farber is around the corner, soTONs of cancer stuff. The clinic is amazing...equipped with fluro and ultrasound. Residents are VERY VERY happy. The city..boston if amazing. I really can't think of a 'con' to this program. Unlike the previous poster...when talking to head hunters, they told me the Brigham graduates are quite sought after...the Harvard name is huge.

 

[sweetalkr]

brigham - i heard it was great, but 3 headhunters mentioned their competition in the city with MGH and BID. some applicants mentioned BID was "better". why, i forgot..

and every single headhnter said texas tech is the best if you want to do advanced interventional procedures.. like trigeminal rfas, and crazy face blocks, stims, pumps, etc.. in high volume..

so in a total multi-discp aspect, brigham is probably better, but i dont feel like i need to spend 2-3 months with pmr, psych, and neuro in fellowship. texas tech makes u do a few weeks (the minimum) of each adn u can find time when ur day is over to do interventional..

so i think program comes down to preference in what u want and are looking for.

 

[SleepIsGood]

About the Brigham...actually they do very advanced procedures. In addition to the RFAs you mentioned, they are stimulating many nerves...occipital, supraorbital,etc. Not many programs have the amount of patients nor do they have these 'advanced' procedures. Again, the "Harvard" name is also a huge factor.

Northwestern-
Great facilities and location as someone mentioned. yes, younger attendings. In terms of advanced procedures...the volume is not that high. As a result, some people question whether it is 'interventional'.

Case-
Great program. Dr. Hayek is from CCF. One draw back is that it appears that fellows are giving a lot of the lectures. Attendigns are nice. They put you up in a great hotel,etc.

 

[rockypain]

brigham - i heard it was great, but 3 headhunters mentioned their competition in the city with MGH and BID. some applicants mentioned BID was "better". why, i forgot..

and every single headhnter said texas tech is the best if you want to do advanced interventional procedures.. like trigeminal rfas, and crazy face blocks, stims, pumps, etc.. in high volume..

so in a total multi-discp aspect, brigham is probably better, but i dont feel like i need to spend 2-3 months with pmr, psych, and neuro in fellowship. texas tech makes u do a few weeks (the minimum) of each adn u can find time when ur day is over to do interventional..

so i think program comes down to preference in what u want and are looking for.

sweetalkr, you don't make sense at all. how can you compare Brigham with Texas tech? you got nerves dude. This is the most stupid comparison, I have ever heard. those headhunters must be as "genius" as you are.
By the way, Brigham has offered spots to good candidates. Such a big programs always tell candidates how "great" they are and program isn't making a decision until "october 15th" but offer positions to good candidates which you must not be since you even don't have sense which program is good.
Texas tech has even no comparison with MD Anderson, forget about Brigham.
But stay "happy" like many others like you.

 

[sweetalkr]

sweetalkr, you don't make sense at all. how can you compare Brigham with Texas tech? you got nerves dude. This is the most stupid comparison, I have ever heard. those headhunters must be as "genius" as you are.
By the way, Brigham has offered spots to good candidates. Such a big programs always tell candidates how "great" they are and program isn't making a decision until "october 15th" but offer positions to good candidates which you must not be since you even don't have sense which program is good.
Texas tech has even no comparison with MD Anderson, forget about Brigham.
But stay "happy" like many others like you.

Thanks for your insightful posts, rocky. From your previous posts, it seems like you are bitter about more things than just the fellowship process, and I am sure your bedside manner reflects this. I really look forward to having a colleague in the field of pain medicine as positive and enthusiastic as you are. I am sure you will be a great asset to our specialty, especially if you learn how to speak english with correct grammar!

 

[Whistle Blower1]

sweetalkr, you don't make sense at all. how can you compare Brigham with Texas tech? you got nerves dude. This is the most stupid comparison, I have ever heard. those headhunters must be as "genius" as you are.
By the way, Brigham has offered spots to good candidates. Such a big programs always tell candidates how "great" they are and program isn't making a decision until "october 15th" but offer positions to good candidates which you must not be since you even don't have sense which program is good.
Texas tech has even no comparison with MD Anderson, forget about Brigham.
But stay "happy" like many others like you.

Alright, let me start with that I'm a long time lurker and a first time poster. I have read this thread for almost two years now and refuse to see it hijacked by some bitter poster.

1. Rocky Pain and No Pain is Gain is the same person. (The style of comments plus a new poster spontaneously popping up with the same shi**y grammar and same views make this obvious)
2. By reading the posts, I know who Rocky Pain/No pain is Gain is.
3. I met this guy on the interview trail. He is an FMG who graduated two years ago from PMR somewhere in Jersey. He applied for pain last year, and could not land an accredeted spot.....ANYWHERE. His bitterness to certain programs is apparant from his posts.
4. I wanted to put this out there so that next years applicants don't get a scewed view of certain programs because this site is sometimes the only source for info (if thats good or bad is up for debate)
5. This is my last post, so don't try to argue Mr. Rocky, I'm sure you're gonna spew some bullshi*.
6. The bottom line is that you are a WEAK APPLICANT, NOT VERY BRIGHT, and WEAK CLINICALLY.

 

[rockypain]

Alright, let me start with that I'm a long time lurker and a first time poster. I have read this thread for almost two years now and refuse to see it hijacked by some bitter poster.

1. Rocky Pain and No Pain is Gain is the same person. (The style of comments plus a new poster spontaneously popping up with the same shi**y grammar and same views make this obvious)
2. By reading the posts, I know who Rocky Pain/No pain is Gain is.
3. I met this guy on the interview trail. He is an FMG who graduated two years ago from PMR somewhere in Jersey. He applied for pain last year, and could not land an accredeted spot.....ANYWHERE. His bitterness to certain programs is apparant from his posts.
4. I wanted to put this out there so that next years applicants don't get a scewed view of certain programs because this site is sometimes the only source for info (if thats good or bad is up for debate)
5. This is my last post, so don't try to argue Mr. Rocky, I'm sure you're gonna spew some bullshi*.
6. The bottom line is that you are a WEAK APPLICANT, NOT VERY BRIGHT, and WEAK CLINICALLY.

I was a silent observer since last year and after interviews, I came to know that few people write according to their acceptance and rejection.
For instance sweetalkr in one of his previous post was begging for interview at Cornell and dying to move to NYC, but when he got accepted at Texas Tech, he "found" that Cornell is "less interventional" and Brigham is not "as great" as Texas Tech. Isn't it bull****?
I dont know who is that poor guy you talking about, but why I am persistently saying good things about Brigham, Roosevelt and MD Anderson?
Did they accept me? then I am not a "WEAK APPLICANT"
and if not, then I am honest in my opinion.
please right honest reviews irrespective of your acceptance or rejection. A good recent example is the review of "SleepIsGood"

 

[axm397]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and those who peruse the forums know that posts are written by people from various backgrounds/interest/motive and that they should be taken with a grain of salt. This thread in particular is meant to be helpful to fellowship applicants and those considering a pain fellowship. Let's try to be civil and professional on these forums and make it more useful for future applicants.

 

[drusso]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and those who peruse the forums know that posts are written by people from various backgrounds/interest/motive and that they should be taken with a grain of salt. This thread in particular is meant to be helpful to fellowship applicants and those considering a pain fellowship. Let's try to be civil and professional on these forums and make it more useful for future applicants.

...In other words, knock it off. Please keep the content of this thread on a professional level.

 

[cwkslvr]

I too am a long time lurker, first time poster. I used this forum as my primary resource before applying for pain management fellowships. As other people have mentioned before, there isn’t a lot of information out there concerning pain fellowships. I just wanted to contribute to the forum that helped me throughout the application process.

DISCLAIMER: the following reviews are based on my opinions only. The information that I am giving you is first-hand and not something that “I heard” from someone else.

The overall impression that I received from the interview trail is that all ACGME accredited pain fellowships will train you to do all of the basic procedures – radiofrequency ablation/neuromodulation, medial branch blocks, SI joint injections, selective nerve root blocks, sympathetic blocks, epidurals, facet joint injections, etc. However, most programs will differ in the amount of exposure to spinal cord stimulator placement, intrathecal pump placement, and disc procedures (discography, discectomy, nucleoplasty, vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, IDET). I can tell you that most programs avoid disc procedures due to lack of reimbursement or to prevent territory disputes with interventional radiology, ortho, or neurosurgery.

The other take home message is that no matter where you train, you will not leave your residency or fellowship program knowing everything that you need to know about your specialty. My personal goal is to be safe, not hurt anyone, and to not do anything stupid. If I want or need to learn anything else, then I can supplement my skills over time.

Lets get on with the reviews. I do not have any specific numbers to give you concerning spinal cord stimulators/year, intrathecal pumps/year because I didn’t want to give the impression that I was a block-jock during my interviews.

University of California, Irvine: They accept two fellows/year. Historically, they take their candidates from the University of California system or from the state of California. Great location, Orange County, 80 degree weather all year around. I really wanted to go here because I’m from So Cal, but I don’t think that the program has reached its full potential yet. The program has been restructured with a new program director and new staff. From what I can tell, there are three primary attendings. All of them are pretty young and enthusiastic, but lack the experience that can be passed on from an attending that has been working in the field for thirty years. Also, two of the attendings are PM&R, and one is an anesthesiologist. I would personally prefer learning procedures from an anesthesiologist. They have a brand new hospital, an on-site clinic which was adequate, and off-site clinic somewhere in Orange County.

Loyola University – Accepts two fellows/year. Overall, I think that this is an adequate program. You will learn all of the basics. It doesn’t sound like you will be worked to death because one of the attendings mentioned that the fellow may have some free time to pick up more procedures in the clinic on a non-clinic day. I received the impression that the program is weak with exposure to stims and pumps.

University of Virginia – Accepts five fellows/year. Weird interview #1. I fly into Richmond and drive an hour to the hospital. They provided the hotel room which was nice. A fellow shows up the next morning bright and early to take me and another candidate to the hospital. We hang out in the anesthesiology lounge for a while waiting for someone to interview us. Then they decide that we will round with the acute pain service. So me and the other candidate follow around an attending and an anesthesiology resident while they check on all of epidurals. The attending didn’t ask us any interview-type questions. After rounds, they dropped us off at the lounge, then the assistant program director interviews both of us at the same time in a conference room. Again, he didn’t ask any questions. I felt like he was there to answer questions and to sell the program to us. Next, we were interviewed simultaneously by a nurse. Same thing. No questions. After the interview she transported us to the pain clinic in her personal vehicle where the program director sold the program to us in between patients. Another attending actually took the time to conduct a proper interview by taking us into her office one person at a time. Her background was in pediatrics and psychiatry which I felt was an odd combination for an interventional pain specialist. At the end of the day, the program director told us that the interview was over. The other candidate and I had to figure out how to get back to the hotel (remember the nurse that drove us to the pain clinic?). One of the fellows showed us how to catch a shuttle from the pain clinic back to the hospital. We caught the shuttle to the hospital and figured out how to get back to the hotel on foot (short walk). Despite this strange interview, I felt that this program was solid. The only issue that I had was clinic overload. It sounds like the fellows are in the clinic almost every day. They only have one day of procedures each week and one OR day every other week. However, the one day I was there, the fellow was going into the OR to place five spinal cord stimulators. This program is weak with intrathecal pumps, but the assistant program director is working to increase their numbers.

Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals of Cleveland – Accepts 3 fellows/year. Weird interview #2. So I drive out to Cleveland and University Hospitals provided the hotel room at the Crowne Plaza hotel. This isn’t just any hotel room but a spacious room with a suite and kitchenette. Good start. The pre-interview dinner is at a nice sushi restaurant, and they allow us to order off of the menu (drinks included). Now we’re getting off to a better start. The private room starts filling up with about twenty candidates for three spots. It’s getting a little crowded. A couple of the fellows join us to discuss the program. Dr. Hayek arrives, greets everyone, and sits at a small table situated away from everyone. He starts off with a martini and orders his meal. A former fellow flew in from out of town to participate in the interview process. She sits to his right. The program coordinator sits to his left. Each candidate one-by-one is called up to the small table to speak with Dr. Hayek. The evening drags on and I happen to be one of the last candidates to be called to the table (just because of where I was sitting). I sit down in front of Dr. Hayek and he asks me two questions 1) Why do you want to go into pain management? 2) Where else did you interview? After he asked two questions, the strangest thing happened, he just sat across from me, smiled, and said nothing. Was the martini kicking in? Was he tired of interviewing already? The person to my left said nothing, and the person to my right said nothing. So I took over the interview and started asking him questions. The painful interview finally ended and I went back to my hotel room to rest up for the next day. The next morning we went on a group tour of the facilities. The pain clinic was located in a small, dark area in what appeared to be the basement. After the tour, all of the candidates were taken to a conference room and called out to interview in groups of 4-5 people. Again, I happened to be in last group to interview. I’m sure that the interviewers were tired because I was tired from waiting 3-4 hours to interview. Despite this horrible interview experience, I still believe that this is a solid program. All of the basics plus decent exposure to stims, pumps, and disc procedures. The only issue that I have is that you will be driving to different sites during the fellowship and you must attend didactics at the main hospital in the morning. This can be a pain during the winter. I hope that you have all-wheel drive. I believe that their fellows are responsible for a lot of the didactics. One of their fellows is a psychiatrist by training.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center – Accepts five fellows/year. One of the most organized interviews that I have been to. Pre-interview dinner was at a steak house. Fixed menu. All of the fellows and attendings were at the dinner which was nice. The next day, interviews were in 30 minute blocks and everything ran like clock-work. They provided breakfast and lunch and the interviews were conducted on Friday which is an administrative day for the clinic. No patients to distract them The pain clinic is new with two fluoro rooms. I got the impression that the fellows spend the majority of their time at the clinic doing procedures. The pain clinic is a factory. Also the fellows learn some unique facial blocks, from Dr. Day (program director). The fellows here definitely work long hours but it’s all quality time with a needle in your hand. Dr. Racz is a huge asset to the program, but I got the impression that he is gone for a significant portion of time during the year. Overall, I would say that this program offers a lot of exposure to most pain procedures. There’s a reason why a lot of people in this forum talk about this program, and I would have to agree that it is a great fellowship. I think that they choose two fellows to start off cycle (not in July). Also, I got the impression that candidates from Texas Tech, or natives of Texas, have a huge advantage over other candidates.

UT Southwestern – Accepts four fellows/year (I think). This program is not malignant. The program director eliminated the pop-quiz at the beginning of the interview due to its popularity among the candidates, and from comments made on this forum. One of the fellows reminded the program director about the test as if to make fun of him. The fellows drive to one pain clinic, one outpatient surgery center, and the VA in Dallas. I think that one of the biggest advantages of this program is the ability to practice at the VA. The fellows here get a lot of exposure to most pain procedures including disc procedures because the vets don’t really care what you do just as long as you can alleviate their pain. One awkward situation occurred during my interview. An attending interviewed me in a conference room with the other two candidates present. He asked me why he should take me over the other candidates and I was forced to tell him in detail how I was more qualified. Overall, I liked this program a lot. Considering all of the programs where I have interviewed, I would rank this program behind Texas Tech.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center – Accepts five fellows/year (I think). This program has its own pain management department that is separate from anesthesiology, neurology, or PM&R. They have an interventional track and a medical track. Interventionalists must spend one month doing medical management, and medical management fellows must spend one month doing interventional procedures. This program has a separate wing of the hospital where they manage complex palliative care patients. I was informed during the interview that I would be working intern hours. This was confirmed by the fellow. However, the fellow stated that he did a lot of procedures including many stims and pumps. I don’t recall if this program does disc procedures. Overall, I think that this is a solid program. Cost of living in Manhattan is outrageous.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center – Accepts seven fellows/year. Organized interview #2. The interview started with a nice lunch with all of the candidates. Five interviews, five attendings, 20 minute blocks, ran almost like clockwork (some of the interviews ran a little over time). This was one of the few interviews where I felt comfortable. I attribute this feeling to the collegial work environment within the clinic between the fellows, attendings, and staff members. Also, each attending that I met was easy-going and normal (at least during the interview). Overall solid program but may be weak on stims and pumps according to one fellow that I spoke with. No disc procedures. 95% of the fellow’s time is spent in the pain clinic doing procedures. Call is home call and occurs one month in seven (there are seven fellows). The clinic has three C-arms and OR procedures are done at the medical center ¼ mile down the road. Great location in Boston and great reputation especially for anyone interested in academia. Cost of living is high, but not as high as Manhattan.

University of Washington – accepts 5 fellows/year (they recently applied for a sixth position). This program recently moved into a brand new multi-million dollar pain clinic. Of all the programs that I have interviewed at, this was the nicest clinic I have seen. One C-arm and one 3-D CT scanner. I believe about 18 months ago, two fellows left the program. One fellow left because his spouse did not want to live in Seattle. I’m not sure why the other fellow left. Controversy surrounds one of the attendings, Cahana, Chief, Division of Pain Medicine. Cahana has high expectations of fellows and attendings alike. He runs a tight ship and was a former member of the Israeli army. Another attending, Gofeld, was a former member of the Israeli army, and Trescot, the program director was former U.S. Navy. Trescot is very easy to get along with, has many years of experience in private practice, and constantly teaches the fellows. One of the current fellows had a run-in with Cahana. This surprised me because he was a very mild-mannered, non-confrontational person. The fellow would not elaborate on what transpired, but it was understood that he no longer works with Cahana. I believe that this program is in the process of rebuilding with the recent addition of Cahana, Trescot, and the new pain clinic. Overall, I believe that this program has not reached its full potential just yet. Nice clinic in Seattle if you plan on settling in the west coast.

 

[rockypain]

DISCLAIMER: The following reviews are based on my opinions only.
also kindly pardon my poor grammer.....................................

Brigham/Harvard: Great program with a great name. They do every procedure, which is written in books. Probably the most interventional program, a lot of spinal cord stims particularly. I have not heard anything from them but still, it is a dream program with the name of Harvard. 10/10
BIDMC: Simopoulos is the main strength of program, extremely interventional. Fellows were very happy. Asdourian (PD) was not impressive at all. Bajwa is a big name too. Simopoulos mentioned that he is working on some new procedures in association with spine ortho. Not as great as Brigham but good program. Great research potential.9/10

Cleveland Clinic: Very big name in Midwest. Fellows had mixed feelings, anesthesia fellows were very happy though. Too big program, Do a lot of procedures particularly USG guided procedures (which makes them different from other programs) Narouze and Kapural are backbones of the program. A lot lot stims and pumps.9/10

Case Western: They do a lot of procedures, like private practice set up. After morning round, each fellow goes with one attending to do “procedures only”. Fellows claim to perform unbelievably huge amount of procedures. Early morning pain lectures sound great but make life tougher. Hayek and McIntyre are awesome. Since no VA rotation anymore, not too many intradiscal procedures.8/10

Univ of Cincinnati: After Munir left, program was almost drowned. Sachdeva sounds pretty cool too. Akbik does a lot of procedures but a fellow told that he does not let fellows do big procedures until at the end (which is not that uncommon). Very few vertbro/yr and very few stims and discography. A lot of bread and butter procedures. Cadaver courses are good. 7/10

MD Anderson: Allen Burton is simply awesome. I have met previous PD Dr.Ari, however Hamid is not as welcoming as she used to be. A lot of interviewers but are very nice and down to earth. I have always been interested in cancer pain and that is the only reason that my main”targets” were, MD Anderson, MSK and Univ of Buffalo. MD Anderson is simply great. They are independent, proactive, a lot of procedures and a lot of research. 10/10

Cornell: Great name. The 3 state of the art institutes together, perhaps the only example at least in USA. Inspite of all my above criticism, I would admit that the faculty was really nice; particularly Diwan, and they are sincere in teaching and training. Perhaps I was really over judgmental in my previous posts.7/10

St Vincent: very laid back program. Not too many procedures but only 2 fellows so divided equally. Hosny does perms himself so is a great plus. Fellows normally leave at 4 pm and Wednesday half day is off for “reading” since the program has no teaching at all. You have to know BMW M3 inside out if you want this spot and you have to love M3 more than your wife since it is the baby of Hosny.7/10


Univ of Louisville: No comments. It was a waste of time to go there for interview.

Univ of Michigan: I canceled the interview since during interview at CCF, residents from Univ of Michigan mentioned that one fellow quit after one month and two others were about to quit. They had worst centricity and dictation system.(Again this is what I heard. I might be wrong. No hard feelings)


I had to cancel my interviews at VCU, Beth Israel NY, Ohio state and Yale due to limited days off and I already decided my spot. If I had not accepted a spot, I would have loved to at least go to VCU for interview as I have heard great things about Depalma.

Feel free to correct me

 

[Jeff05]

DISCLAIMER: The following reviews are based on my opinions only.
also kindly pardon my poor grammer.....................................

Brigham/Harvard: Great program with a great name. They do every procedure, which is written in books. Probably the most interventional program, a lot of spinal cord stims particularly. I have not heard anything from them but still, it is a dream program with the name of Harvard. 10/10
BIDMC: Simopoulos is the main strength of program, extremely interventional. Fellows were very happy. Asdourian (PD) was not impressive at all. Bajwa is a big name too. Simopoulos mentioned that he is working on some new procedures in association with spine ortho. Not as great as Brigham but good program. Great research potential.9/10

Cleveland Clinic: Very big name in Midwest. Fellows had mixed feelings, anesthesia fellows were very happy though. Too big program, Do a lot of procedures particularly USG guided procedures (which makes them different from other programs) Narouze and Kapural are backbones of the program. A lot lot stims and pumps.9/10

Case Western: They do a lot of procedures, like private practice set up. After morning round, each fellow goes with one attending to do “procedures only”. Fellows claim to perform unbelievably huge amount of procedures. Early morning pain lectures sound great but make life tougher. Hayek and McIntyre are awesome. Since no VA rotation anymore, not too many intradiscal procedures.8/10

Univ of Cincinnati: After Munir left, program was almost drowned. Sachdeva sounds pretty cool too. Akbik does a lot of procedures but a fellow told that he does not let fellows do big procedures until at the end (which is not that uncommon). Very few vertbro/yr and very few stims and discography. A lot of bread and butter procedures. Cadaver courses are good. 7/10

MD Anderson: Allen Burton is simply awesome. I have met previous PD Dr.Ari, however Hamid is not as welcoming as she used to be. A lot of interviewers but are very nice and down to earth. I have always been interested in cancer pain and that is the only reason that my main”targets” were, MD Anderson, MSK and Univ of Buffalo. MD Anderson is simply great. They are independent, proactive, a lot of procedures and a lot of research. 10/10

Cornell: Great name. The 3 state of the art institutes together, perhaps the only example at least in USA. Inspite of all my above criticism, I would admit that the faculty was really nice; particularly Diwan, and they are sincere in teaching and training. Perhaps I was really over judgmental in my previous posts.7/10

St Vincent: very laid back program. Not too many procedures but only 2 fellows so divided equally. Hosny does perms himself so is a great plus. Fellows normally leave at 4 pm and Wednesday half day is off for “reading” since the program has no teaching at all. You have to know BMW M3 inside out if you want this spot and you have to love M3 more than your wife since it is the baby of Hosny.7/10


Univ of Louisville: No comments. It was a waste of time to go there for interview.

Univ of Michigan: I canceled the interview since during interview at CCF, residents from Univ of Michigan mentioned that one fellow quit after one month and two others were about to quit. They had worst centricity and dictation system.(Again this is what I heard. I might be wrong. No hard feelings)


I had to cancel my interviews at VCU, Beth Israel NY, Ohio state and Yale due to limited days off and I already decided my spot. If I had not accepted a spot, I would have loved to at least go to VCU for interview as I have heard great things about Depalma.

Feel free to correct me

dude, if you think the tri-institute pain program (cornell, sloan-kettering, and hss) is = to st. vincent's, your compass is WAY off. it doesn't even make any sense based on your above impressions.

 

[rockypain]

I respect your opinion Jeff05. May be I am wrong however my scoring was mainly procedure based and considering the fact that St. Vincent has only 2 fellows with 3 interventional attendings, they do pretty reasonable amount of procedures. you can disagree with me.

 

[jessica78]

I too am a long time lurker, first time poster. I used this forum as my primary resource before applying for pain management fellowships. As other people have mentioned before, there isn’t a lot of information out there concerning pain fellowships. I just wanted to contribute to the forum that helped me throughout the application process.

DISCLAIMER: the following reviews are based on my opinions only. The information that I am giving you is first-hand and not something that “I heard” from someone else.

The overall impression that I received from the interview trail is that all ACGME accredited pain fellowships will train you to do all of the basic procedures – radiofrequency ablation/neuromodulation, medial branch blocks, SI joint injections, selective nerve root blocks, sympathetic blocks, epidurals, facet joint injections, etc. However, most programs will differ in the amount of exposure to spinal cord stimulator placement, intrathecal pump placement, and disc procedures (discography, discectomy, nucleoplasty, vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, IDET). I can tell you that most programs avoid disc procedures due to lack of reimbursement or to prevent territory disputes with interventional radiology, ortho, or neurosurgery.

The other take home message is that no matter where you train, you will not leave your residency or fellowship program knowing everything that you need to know about your specialty. My personal goal is to be safe, not hurt anyone, and to not do anything stupid. If I want or need to learn anything else, then I can supplement my skills over time.

Lets get on with the reviews. I do not have any specific numbers to give you concerning spinal cord stimulators/year, intrathecal pumps/year because I didn’t want to give the impression that I was a block-jock during my interviews.

University of California, Irvine: They accept two fellows/year. Historically, they take their candidates from the University of California system or from the state of California. Great location, Orange County, 80 degree weather all year around. I really wanted to go here because I’m from So Cal, but I don’t think that the program has reached its full potential yet. The program has been restructured with a new program director and new staff. From what I can tell, there are three primary attendings. All of them are pretty young and enthusiastic, but lack the experience that can be passed on from an attending that has been working in the field for thirty years. Also, two of the attendings are PM&R, and one is an anesthesiologist. I would personally prefer learning procedures from an anesthesiologist. They have a brand new hospital, an on-site clinic which was adequate, and off-site clinic somewhere in Orange County.

Loyola University – Accepts two fellows/year. Overall, I think that this is an adequate program. You will learn all of the basics. It doesn’t sound like you will be worked to death because one of the attendings mentioned that the fellow may have some free time to pick up more procedures in the clinic on a non-clinic day. I received the impression that the program is weak with exposure to stims and pumps.

University of Virginia – Accepts five fellows/year. Weird interview #1. I fly into Richmond and drive an hour to the hospital. They provided the hotel room which was nice. A fellow shows up the next morning bright and early to take me and another candidate to the hospital. We hang out in the anesthesiology lounge for a while waiting for someone to interview us. Then they decide that we will round with the acute pain service. So me and the other candidate follow around an attending and an anesthesiology resident while they check on all of epidurals. The attending didn’t ask us any interview-type questions. After rounds, they dropped us off at the lounge, then the assistant program director interviews both of us at the same time in a conference room. Again, he didn’t ask any questions. I felt like he was there to answer questions and to sell the program to us. Next, we were interviewed simultaneously by a nurse. Same thing. No questions. After the interview she transported us to the pain clinic in her personal vehicle where the program director sold the program to us in between patients. Another attending actually took the time to conduct a proper interview by taking us into her office one person at a time. Her background was in pediatrics and psychiatry which I felt was an odd combination for an interventional pain specialist. At the end of the day, the program director told us that the interview was over. The other candidate and I had to figure out how to get back to the hotel (remember the nurse that drove us to the pain clinic?). One of the fellows showed us how to catch a shuttle from the pain clinic back to the hospital. We caught the shuttle to the hospital and figured out how to get back to the hotel on foot (short walk). Despite this strange interview, I felt that this program was solid. The only issue that I had was clinic overload. It sounds like the fellows are in the clinic almost every day. They only have one day of procedures each week and one OR day every other week. However, the one day I was there, the fellow was going into the OR to place five spinal cord stimulators. This program is weak with intrathecal pumps, but the assistant program director is working to increase their numbers.

Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals of Cleveland – Accepts 3 fellows/year. Weird interview #2. So I drive out to Cleveland and University Hospitals provided the hotel room at the Crowne Plaza hotel. This isn’t just any hotel room but a spacious room with a suite and kitchenette. Good start. The pre-interview dinner is at a nice sushi restaurant, and they allow us to order off of the menu (drinks included). Now we’re getting off to a better start. The private room starts filling up with about twenty candidates for three spots. It’s getting a little crowded. A couple of the fellows join us to discuss the program. Dr. Hayek arrives, greets everyone, and sits at a small table situated away from everyone. He starts off with a martini and orders his meal. A former fellow flew in from out of town to participate in the interview process. She sits to his right. The program coordinator sits to his left. Each candidate one-by-one is called up to the small table to speak with Dr. Hayek. The evening drags on and I happen to be one of the last candidates to be called to the table (just because of where I was sitting). I sit down in front of Dr. Hayek and he asks me two questions 1) Why do you want to go into pain management? 2) Where else did you interview? After he asked two questions, the strangest thing happened, he just sat across from me, smiled, and said nothing. Was the martini kicking in? Was he tired of interviewing already? The person to my left said nothing, and the person to my right said nothing. So I took over the interview and started asking him questions. The painful interview finally ended and I went back to my hotel room to rest up for the next day. The next morning we went on a group tour of the facilities. The pain clinic was located in a small, dark area in what appeared to be the basement. After the tour, all of the candidates were taken to a conference room and called out to interview in groups of 4-5 people. Again, I happened to be in last group to interview. I’m sure that the interviewers were tired because I was tired from waiting 3-4 hours to interview. Despite this horrible interview experience, I still believe that this is a solid program. All of the basics plus decent exposure to stims, pumps, and disc procedures. The only issue that I have is that you will be driving to different sites during the fellowship and you must attend didactics at the main hospital in the morning. This can be a pain during the winter. I hope that you have all-wheel drive. I believe that their fellows are responsible for a lot of the didactics. One of their fellows is a psychiatrist by training.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center – Accepts five fellows/year. One of the most organized interviews that I have been to. Pre-interview dinner was at a steak house. Fixed menu. All of the fellows and attendings were at the dinner which was nice. The next day, interviews were in 30 minute blocks and everything ran like clock-work. They provided breakfast and lunch and the interviews were conducted on Friday which is an administrative day for the clinic. No patients to distract them The pain clinic is new with two fluoro rooms. I got the impression that the fellows spend the majority of their time at the clinic doing procedures. The pain clinic is a factory. Also the fellows learn some unique facial blocks, from Dr. Day (program director). The fellows here definitely work long hours but it’s all quality time with a needle in your hand. Dr. Racz is a huge asset to the program, but I got the impression that he is gone for a significant portion of time during the year. Overall, I would say that this program offers a lot of exposure to most pain procedures. There’s a reason why a lot of people in this forum talk about this program, and I would have to agree that it is a great fellowship. I think that they choose two fellows to start off cycle (not in July). Also, I got the impression that candidates from Texas Tech, or natives of Texas, have a huge advantage over other candidates.

UT Southwestern – Accepts four fellows/year (I think). This program is not malignant. The program director eliminated the pop-quiz at the beginning of the interview due to its popularity among the candidates, and from comments made on this forum. One of the fellows reminded the program director about the test as if to make fun of him. The fellows drive to one pain clinic, one outpatient surgery center, and the VA in Dallas. I think that one of the biggest advantages of this program is the ability to practice at the VA. The fellows here get a lot of exposure to most pain procedures including disc procedures because the vets don’t really care what you do just as long as you can alleviate their pain. One awkward situation occurred during my interview. An attending interviewed me in a conference room with the other two candidates present. He asked me why he should take me over the other candidates and I was forced to tell him in detail how I was more qualified. Overall, I liked this program a lot. Considering all of the programs where I have interviewed, I would rank this program behind Texas Tech.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center – Accepts five fellows/year (I think). This program has its own pain management department that is separate from anesthesiology, neurology, or PM&R. They have an interventional track and a medical track. Interventionalists must spend one month doing medical management, and medical management fellows must spend one month doing interventional procedures. This program has a separate wing of the hospital where they manage complex palliative care patients. I was informed during the interview that I would be working intern hours. This was confirmed by the fellow. However, the fellow stated that he did a lot of procedures including many stims and pumps. I don’t recall if this program does disc procedures. Overall, I think that this is a solid program. Cost of living in Manhattan is outrageous.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center – Accepts seven fellows/year. Organized interview #2. The interview started with a nice lunch with all of the candidates. Five interviews, five attendings, 20 minute blocks, ran almost like clockwork (some of the interviews ran a little over time). This was one of the few interviews where I felt comfortable. I attribute this feeling to the collegial work environment within the clinic between the fellows, attendings, and staff members. Also, each attending that I met was easy-going and normal (at least during the interview). Overall solid program but may be weak on stims and pumps according to one fellow that I spoke with. No disc procedures. 95% of the fellow’s time is spent in the pain clinic doing procedures. Call is home call and occurs one month in seven (there are seven fellows). The clinic has three C-arms and OR procedures are done at the medical center ¼ mile down the road. Great location in Boston and great reputation especially for anyone interested in academia. Cost of living is high, but not as high as Manhattan.

University of Washington – accepts 5 fellows/year (they recently applied for a sixth position). This program recently moved into a brand new multi-million dollar pain clinic. Of all the programs that I have interviewed at, this was the nicest clinic I have seen. One C-arm and one 3-D CT scanner. I believe about 18 months ago, two fellows left the program. One fellow left because his spouse did not want to live in Seattle. I’m not sure why the other fellow left. Controversy surrounds one of the attendings, Cahana, Chief, Division of Pain Medicine. Cahana has high expectations of fellows and attendings alike. He runs a tight ship and was a former member of the Israeli army. Another attending, Gofeld, was a former member of the Israeli army, and Trescot, the program director was former U.S. Navy. Trescot is very easy to get along with, has many years of experience in private practice, and constantly teaches the fellows. One of the current fellows had a run-in with Cahana. This surprised me because he was a very mild-mannered, non-confrontational person. The fellow would not elaborate on what transpired, but it was understood that he no longer works with Cahana. I believe that this program is in the process of rebuilding with the recent addition of Cahana, Trescot, and the new pain clinic. Overall, I believe that this program has not reached its full potential just yet. Nice clinic in Seattle if you plan on settling in the west coast.

I know both fellows who resigned from uw about 2-3 months ago, they both resigned because of cahana nothing else and I think they are going to follow the case with ACGME and other authority ,looks like UW is gonna be in lots of problem.

 

[SleepIsGood]

You'd think ACGME would be all over that, but I doubt it. Of course, the biggest and best recourse will be when they can't fill their fellowship in future years because his behavior and attitude are out of hand.

I dont know anything about the program. I'm sure they will fill regardless since Pain is likely the most desired fellowship at this point. I'm sure someone will want to go there..that's probaby what they are banking on.

 

[rockypain]

Happy New Year to all of you.

 

[clubdeac]

DISCLAIMER: The following reviews are based on my opinions only.
also kindly pardon my poor grammer.....................................

Brigham/Harvard: Great program with a great name. They do every procedure, which is written in books. Probably the most interventional program, a lot of spinal cord stims particularly. I have not heard anything from them but still, it is a dream program with the name of Harvard. 10/10
BIDMC: Simopoulos is the main strength of program, extremely interventional. Fellows were very happy. Asdourian (PD) was not impressive at all. Bajwa is a big name too. Simopoulos mentioned that he is working on some new procedures in association with spine ortho. Not as great as Brigham but good program. Great research potential.9/10

Cleveland Clinic: Very big name in Midwest. Fellows had mixed feelings, anesthesia fellows were very happy though. Too big program, Do a lot of procedures particularly USG guided procedures (which makes them different from other programs) Narouze and Kapural are backbones of the program. A lot lot stims and pumps.9/10

Case Western: They do a lot of procedures, like private practice set up. After morning round, each fellow goes with one attending to do “procedures only”. Fellows claim to perform unbelievably huge amount of procedures. Early morning pain lectures sound great but make life tougher. Hayek and McIntyre are awesome. Since no VA rotation anymore, not too many intradiscal procedures.8/10

Univ of Cincinnati: After Munir left, program was almost drowned. Sachdeva sounds pretty cool too. Akbik does a lot of procedures but a fellow told that he does not let fellows do big procedures until at the end (which is not that uncommon). Very few vertbro/yr and very few stims and discography. A lot of bread and butter procedures. Cadaver courses are good. 7/10

MD Anderson: Allen Burton is simply awesome. I have met previous PD Dr.Ari, however Hamid is not as welcoming as she used to be. A lot of interviewers but are very nice and down to earth. I have always been interested in cancer pain and that is the only reason that my main”targets” were, MD Anderson, MSK and Univ of Buffalo. MD Anderson is simply great. They are independent, proactive, a lot of procedures and a lot of research. 10/10

Cornell: Great name. The 3 state of the art institutes together, perhaps the only example at least in USA. Inspite of all my above criticism, I would admit that the faculty was really nice; particularly Diwan, and they are sincere in teaching and training. Perhaps I was really over judgmental in my previous posts.7/10

St Vincent: very laid back program. Not too many procedures but only 2 fellows so divided equally. Hosny does perms himself so is a great plus. Fellows normally leave at 4 pm and Wednesday half day is off for “reading” since the program has no teaching at all. You have to know BMW M3 inside out if you want this spot and you have to love M3 more than your wife since it is the baby of Hosny.7/10


Univ of Louisville: No comments. It was a waste of time to go there for interview.

Univ of Michigan: I canceled the interview since during interview at CCF, residents from Univ of Michigan mentioned that one fellow quit after one month and two others were about to quit. They had worst centricity and dictation system.(Again this is what I heard. I might be wrong. No hard feelings)


I had to cancel my interviews at VCU, Beth Israel NY, Ohio state and Yale due to limited days off and I already decided my spot. If I had not accepted a spot, I would have loved to at least go to VCU for interview as I have heard great things about Depalma.

Feel free to correct me

Would've loved to meet DePalma huh? That's a good one

 

[nlfru]

Does anyone have any current thoughts on Medical College of Wisconsin? How about Wake Forest? Thanks.

 

[clubdeac]

Wake is under Rauck right? Don't know much about it other than they only consider anesthesia residents. At least that's what I was told 2 yrs ago. No problem if you're anesthesia trained but might as well skip it if your not . . . also I never heard anything amazing about it on the interview trail and I interviewed at about 10 places for what it's worth

 

[Dryacku]

This thread has not been updated lately

Could someone mention the programs that highly interventional and where the fellows do lots of procedures, I personally dont mind working long hours as longs as its not all scut

preferably northeast programs

thanks
yacks

 

[SleepIsGood]

This thread has not been updated lately

Could someone mention the programs that highly interventional and where the fellows do lots of procedures, I personally dont mind working long hours as longs as its not all scut

preferably northeast programs

thanks
yacks

hey man/gal

Look up a few. I'd say this stuff is pretty accurate. Rocky pain has a pretty comprehensive review. I have a pretty decent one as well. I'd say those are as new as you are going to get since they are from this past season of interviewing..

 

[rockypain]

hey man/gal

Look up a few. I'd say this stuff is pretty accurate. Rocky pain has a pretty comprehensive review. I have a pretty decent one as well. I'd say those are as new as you are going to get since they are from this past season of interviewing..

Dryacku! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. Thanks.

 

[Tee Cell]

Thank you all for the reviews. Its a great help.

I looked over the past posts but did not see any info on Thomas Jefferson or Robert Wood Johnson in NJ. I was thinking of applying. Any Info, rumors, hearsay...?

P.S How many places are you guys applying to. 5, 10, 15+?

 

[Painabalater]

Hope they are decent programs I applied to them as well..... Im applying to 20 programs, but thinking of applying to more...

 

[draayan]

Has anyone recieved any interview from any of the program?

 

[PainPsychMD]

Invitations to interviews have started coming, but the majority of programs won't be extending invitations for at least a little while.

 

[nlfru]

Thank you all for the reviews. Its a great help.

I looked over the past posts but did not see any info on Thomas Jefferson or Robert Wood Johnson in NJ. I was thinking of applying. Any Info, rumors, hearsay...?

P.S How many places are you guys applying to. 5, 10, 15+?

I applied to 3.

 

[TheAssMan]

Invitations to interviews have started coming, but the majority of programs won't be extending invitations for at least a little while.

Should anyone be applying to Cornell, we are interviewing earlier this year (late July/early August) and our first set of interview invitations are going out (about 25). Looking at second round of apps on Monday.