The Pain Medicine Fellowship Program is a 1-year ACGME-approved program within the Department of Anesthesiology.
Each year the pain fellow is exposed to a wide variety of patients experiencing all aspects of the pain continuum, including acute pain, chronic pain and cancer-related pain. Our fellows are an integral part of our interdisciplinary team within our Center for Pain and Spine. The fellow achieves greater autonomy in the decision-making process as their experience grows. Our team provides a full range of pain management services including diagnostic evaluations, medical management and procedural therapy using an interdisciplinary approach with a focus on functional improvement.
We see approximately 8,000 patients a year, on average, in our Pain Clinic and perform over 3,000 procedures per year. These procedures include most all diagnostic spine and nerve block procedures, neurolytic procedures, spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation, implantable pump placement, and musculoskeletal (MSK) procedures using both fluoroscopic and ultrasound guidance.
We have a very active didactic schedule geared towards preparing the fellow for independent practice and for the Pain Medicine board certification examination. We have joint conferences with the Spine team, Neurology, Psychology, Rehabilitative Medicine, Interventional Radiology, Rheumatology and Anesthesiology.
Our Pain Medicine Fellowship offers a well-rounded experience for those wishing to pursue a career in the field of pain medicine, whether in academics, private practice, or a mixture of both. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center offers a collegial and non-pressured atmosphere to study and learn with a wide variety of experiences available. The Upper Valley offers a beautiful and highly cultured location in which to live and learn in during the fellowship year.
Mission
The mission of our Pain Medicine Fellowship is to enhance patients' quality of life through a decrease in pain and an improvement in the ability to enjoy daily activities, by producing high-quality, well-rounded fellows. We accomplish this by involving our fellows in our integrated approach to pain management, by providing consultation and treatment to individuals with acute, chronic, and cancer pain. Each patient is prescribed an individually tailored treatment plan after having been thoroughly evaluated by our skilled team of medical experts. Our institution acts as the tertiary care center for a large part of northern New England. This allows our fellows the breadth and depth of experiences needed to be a comprehensive Pain Medicine physician.
Aims
Our mission is to guide and educate Pain Medicine fellows as they develop the skills and expertise to provide safe, high-value patient care through professional, ethical and compassionate behavior. We empower Pain Medicine fellows to address health care disparities, and to continuously improve their education, practice and the community health care system as a whole.