Question About Pain Pathway

[anonobanano]

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Hi all — this might sound strange but I'm looking for some clarity on fellowship eligibility.

I'm currently an ophthalmology resident, but I've had a long-standing interest in interventional pain management. I know the ACGME pain medicine fellowship traditionally draws from anesthesiology, PM&R, neurology, psychiatry, and emergency medicine.

My questions:

• Are ophthalmology residents/graduates eligible to apply to ANY pain medicine fellowships (ACGME or not), or is eligibility restricted to specific base specialties?
• If eligibility is restricted, is there any pathway (additional training, a different board) that would open it up?
• Has anyone seen someone match into pain from a non-traditional base specialty?

Appreciate any insight or firsthand experience., thank you

 

[bedrock]

Hi all — this might sound strange but I'm looking for some clarity on fellowship eligibility.

I'm currently an ophthalmology resident, but I've had a long-standing interest in interventional pain management. I know the ACGME pain medicine fellowship traditionally draws from anesthesiology, PM&R, neurology, psychiatry, and emergency medicine.

My questions:

• Are ophthalmology residents/graduates eligible to apply to ANY pain medicine fellowships (ACGME or not), or is eligibility restricted to specific base specialties?
• If eligibility is restricted, is there any pathway (additional training, a different board) that would open it up?
• Has anyone seen someone match into pain from a non-traditional base specialty?

Appreciate any insight or firsthand experience., thank you

optho is not eligible for ACGME pain board certification. You would have an incredibly hard time winning an ACGME pain fellowship spot.
If you're an early optho resident and you really want pain, you should try to switch into an anesthesia residency or possibly PM&R. If you're already at the end of your optho residency then I don't think you have a reasonable shot at Pain.

 

[Laryngospasm]

I hope you really like pain.. that’s a hell of a decision

 

[mdo1738]

Pain is great and in my opinion better than ophtho, but if you’re already in a field as good as ophtho I do not think pain is significantly better enough to take that massive of a risk and/or waste that much time. You are simply not board eligible from ophtho, and that will significantly limit your job opportunities. Not that you couldn’t do fine, there’s non-traditional docs who do great work and get paid well, but it’s not like you’re giving up a ****ty field for pain; you’re giving up one of the best lifestyle fields there is, with no guarantee you’ll find gainful employment in pain, or at least one that is comparable to what you could get with eyeballs.

 

[so55b]

Pain is great and in my opinion better than ophtho, but if you’re already in a field as good as ophtho I do not think pain is significantly better enough to take that massive of a risk and/or waste that much time. You are simply not board eligible from ophtho, and that will significantly limit your job opportunities. Not that you couldn’t do fine, there’s non-traditional docs who do great work and get paid well, but it’s not like you’re giving up a ****ty field for pain; you’re giving up one of the best lifestyle fields there is, with no guarantee you’ll find gainful employment in pain, or at least one that is comparable to what you could get with eyeballs.

What made you feel like pain is better than optho? I like pain too but just out of curiosity

 

[Laryngospasm]

Pain is definitely not better than optho

 

[mdo1738]

What made you feel like pain is better than optho? I like pain too but just out of curiosity

Lifestyle is better and lower stress. Yes, I know we have the risk of paralyzing people, but the risk of blinding people would stress me out way worse.

 

[Agast]

I think OP is having some residency struggles. A lot of surgeons tend to think of anesthesiology as cake or cushy, but if there are competency issues as a clinician you cannot hide them in the OR.

 

[Malayil]

This is the craziest thread thus far

 

[anonobanano]

I think OP is having some residency struggles. A lot of surgeons tend to think of anesthesiology as cake or cushy, but if there are competency issues as a clinician you cannot hide them in the OR.

Lol, nice of you to make that claim. No competency issues. No struggles other than I don’t like what I’m doing. And I never said I wanted to do anesthesia, I wanted to do interventional pain..