Psych & Pain

[prominence]

I have heard that psychiatrists are "eligible" to apply for pain management fellowships. However, most pain management fellowships are filled by Anesthesiology and PM&R residents, and even some by Neurology residents.

Does anyone know any psychiatrists who have done a pain management fellowship? I wonder how psychiatrists, who do not have any experience with procedures, even get a pain mangement fellowship. Is the fellowship more like pain meds management?

I welcome any thoughts. Thank you.

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[Stinky Tofu]

I have heard that psychiatrists are "eligible" to apply for pain management fellowships. However, most pain management fellowships are filled by Anesthesiology and PM&R residents, and even some by Neurology residents.

Does anyone know any psychiatrists who have done a pain management fellowship? I wonder how psychiatrists, who do not have any experience with procedures, even get a pain mangement fellowship. Is the fellowship more like pain meds management?

I welcome any thoughts. Thank you.

Getting an Interventional Pain fellowship as a Psychiatrist is extremely difficult. I think you have to make a significant effort during residency and have plenty of elective time in order to get a fellowship. You should also apply to the PM&R Pain fellowships because they will likely be more open to accepting Psychiatrists. Our fellow this year did a Med/Peds residency.

 

[engineer]

can anyone give more information about psych residents getting into pain? can they do interventional procedure?

 

[engineer]

Anyone have info about psych and pain?

 

[SeaviewMD]

Although I don't personally know any psychiatrists who have completed a pain fellowship, many its seems have "grandfathered" into this subspecialty; appropriate, considering the vast number of psychiatric patients with co-morbid pain issues.

The programs offering pain fellowships I've spoken to have given varied responses concerning applicants from psychiatric residencies. Those with a procedural emphasis have either asked about appropriate experience, often in the context of 4th year electives, or simply stated they prefer a background in Anesthesiology. PM&R and Neurology-based programs have seemed less concerned about this (or the few psychiatry-based programs, of course).

If you wish to specialize in procedurally based pain managment, you may want to investigate the effect this will have on malpractice premiums. Anesthesiologists are able to offset often much higher malpractice premiums than psychiatrists by virtue of being a procedure-heavy specialty. Pain patients referred to psychiatrists are often psychiatrically complex treatment failures that require more time than non-psychiatric patients. That said, I do know of a psychiatrist in my area that runs a sucessful practice that is very medically and procedurally oriented.

Hope this is somehow helpful; good luck!

 

[docpsych]

i am presently a PGY-1 psych resident at university program, interested in pain medicine. if possible i will attempt to do electives my 4th year related to pain med, if i am not able to what are my chances of getting into pain med fellowship.
what should i plan to do now as a pgy-1 resident to increase my chances of pain fellowship. does anyone know lifetsyle of a psych/pain doc, and do they practice more psych or pain med. i have heard some doc stopping their psych practice and doing all pain med. what is the compensation for psych/pain med docs.

 

[prominence]

Those with a procedural emphasis have either asked about appropriate experience, often in the context of 4th year electives, or simply stated they prefer a background in Anesthesiology. PM&R and Neurology-based programs have seemed less concerned about this (or the few psychiatry-based programs, of course).

Is there a listing of psychiatry-based pain management fellowship programs? If not, where can I find such info?