Pain Medicine Fellowship

The fellowship training program has firm foundations in evidence-based scientific principles, exceptional bedside clinical skills, expertise in procedural techniques and the promotion of scientific research. With a focus on multispecialty training, fellows will rotate through various subspecialties, including anesthesiology, neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, general medicine, neuroradiology, palliative care and psychiatry.

Additionally, the program emphasizes the business aspect of medicine, providing valuable knowledge on navigating the evolving landscape of healthcare delivery. A dedicated curriculum focuses on developing administrative and financial skill sets, covering topics such as billing, coding, practice management and leading hospital-wide initiatives.

Fellows will participate in hands-on workshops that include ultrasound-guided regional blocks, interventional pain procedures and surgical skills training, such as suture placement and hemostasis. We also invite guest faculty to conduct interactive teaching sessions on physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry, addiction medicine, palliative medicine, neurosurgery, radiology, wellness, integrative medicine and acupuncture.

Fellows will participate in at-home pager calls on weekends, adhering to ACGME limits, to complete rounds for inpatient chronic pain consultation services. Additionally, fellows have the opportunity to enhance their education and training through internal moonlighting in anesthesiology, provided it does not interfere with their required educational commitments.

Clinical Skills and Procedures

At the end of the program, fellows will have experienced and performed the following:

• A full complement of neuraxial and sympathetic injections
• Radiofrequency ablation
• Joint injections
• Trialing, implantation and management of dorsal column and peripheral nerve stimulators
• Intrathecal pump trial, implantation, refill technique and management
• Billing and coding for procedures and clinic visits
• Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia techniques
• Thoracic epidurals for thoracic trauma
• Botulinum toxin therapy for the treatment of pain and spasticity
• Develop personalized physical and occupational therapy programs
• Prescribe prosthetics and orthotics, pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies, opioid and non-opioid analgesics
• Refer and follow patients undergoing pain psychology interventions
• Integrative medicine

Educational Activities and Leadership

Clinical experience is complemented with bi-weekly didactics of small group board-oriented lectures, physical examination practice sessions, journal club, grand rounds, multidisciplinary case conferences and morbidity and mortality conferences. Educational sessions are led by multidisciplinary faculty and cover all ACGME-required topics. Sessions also include preparation for pain medicine board exams, training in pain practice business, billing and coding, epidemiology, as well as research preparation and research study design. 

To further enhance the fellow’s educational and leadership skills, they are encouraged to participate in various task forces and committees within the pain society.

Fellows will experience an enriching clinical training environment at various UCI Health locations.

Chronic Pain Service

Fellowship training will involve experiences at clinical sites with a diverse patient population. Interventional pain procedures are performed at the UCI Health Center for Pain and Wellness, which is fully equipped with fluoroscopy suites, state-of-the-art ultrasound machines, recovery bays, examination rooms and musculoskeletal ultrasound machines. Fellows will collaborate with a dedicated team of clinic staff, who will provide support to ensure efficient patient flow.

Acute Pain Service

Fellows will gain experience with high-volume cases and a diverse range of ultrasound-guided nerve blocks in the 24-hour Acute Pain Service at UCI Medical Center. Fellows will care for patients experiencing acute postoperative pain, post-traumatic pain and severe chronic pain. Procedures performed in the operating room may include trials of spinal cord stimulation, implantation of dorsal column and peripheral nerve stimulators and trial and implantation of intrathecal drug delivery systems.

Perioperative Pain Clinic

The clinic delivers comprehensive pain management plans focused on surgical care. Fellows will be actively involved in the clinic by developing a tailored treatment plan for patients on preoperative preparation, intraoperative care optimization and postoperative planning. Fellows will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of primary care doctors, nurses, pharmacists, therapists and surgeons to identify and create effective treatment strategies.

Fellows have dedicated research faculty support and mentorship for scholarly activities, quality improvement projects, basic science and clinical research opportunities.

Research areas include:

• Cannabis
• Pediatric pain
• Clinical trials in pediatric pain management
• Spinal cord injury
• Stem cell biology

Additionally, fellows can collaborate with other researchers at the university, including those at the UC Irvine Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute and the UC Irvine Center for the Study of Cannabis.

Fellows are strongly encouraged to submit abstracts and present cases. We provide financial support for travel to national conferences to present research.