Multidisciplinary Pain Medicine Fellowship

The Multidsciplinary Pain Medicine Fellowship integrates several areas of pain medicine including, interventional pain management, chronic pain rehabilitation, cancer pain and palliative care, acute pain, pediatric chronic pain, neurology, psychiatry and clinical research. The fellowship is a collaboration between two of the main teaching centers at McGaw Medical Center: Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Dr. David Walega is the Program Director and Dr. Steven Stanos is the Assistant Program Director for the Multidsciplinary Pain Medicine Fellowship.

The Galter Anesthesiology Pain Medicine Center at Northwestern underwent a major expansion in 2011 to accommodate an ever-increasing patient volume. The Center has tripled the number of exam rooms: there are now two fluoroscopy suites in addition to an ultrasound suite. All imaging equipment has been updated.

The fellowship offers five positions for a one-year appointment. All fellow candidates who are selected for interviews will meet with several faculty members and trainees. Historically, four positions are filled with those who completed anesthesiology residency and one position is filled by one who completed physiatry residency. Exceptional candidates from other training disciplines may be considered. Candidates may send their application materials as soon as July 1 and interviewing typically begins in August each year. In the past, all positions are filled by October of the preceding training year. For further information about the application and selection process, please click here.

Faculty members from the Division of Pain Medicine and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago are recognized experts in pain medicine, regional anesthesia and rehabilitation. They are active in the American Society of Regional Anesthesia, the American Pain Society, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and the Midwest Pain Society. They are members of the editorial boards for Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Clinical Journal of Pain, and MD Consult-Pain Medicine.

Faculty have authored and edited major textbook, including, Raj's Practical Management of Pain, edited by Honorio T. Benzon, MD et al. and the Essentials of Pain Medicine and Regional Anesthesia by Drs. Honorio T. Benzon and Robert E. Molloy. There is very active clinical research in the division resulting in publication of papers, reviews, abstracts and book chapters.

Clinical Training

The Division of Pain Medicine evaluates and manages postoperative pain and inpatient pain consultations. Inpatient consults are seen at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH). In the outpatient Galter Anesthesiology Pain Medicine Center where fellows spend the majority of their training, patients are seen from 7:30:00 am-5:00 pm during the week. Fluoroscopy-guided nerve blocks, discograms, spinal cord stimulation trials and other interventional techniques are performed in one of two dedicated fluoroscopy suites. In addition, ultrasound guided procedures are being developed in the practice and are commonly used for peripheral nerve blocks and appendicular joint injections. There are nine  examination rooms and a five-bay recovery room. All equipment in the pain center is state-of-the-art.

Fellows are trained in pediatric pain medicine and multidisciplinary pain management, including psychiatric evaluation and psychological treatment modalities and physical medicine. Approximately 1,800 new consults and 4,000 follow-up visits are seen in the Anesthesiology Pain Medicine Center each year with more than 3,500 injections performed annually. These procedures include epidural injections, nerve root and facet injections, sacroiliac joint injections, shoulder,hip and knee joint injections, sympathetic blocks, discography and intradiscal procedures, rhizotomies, and spinal cord simulation trials. Fellows implant spinal cord stimulators, intrathecal pumps and perform vertebral augmentation procedures with pain medicine faculty.

There is a formal didactic program specifically for the pain medicine fellows Experts from the fields of radiology, neurosurgery, neurology, urology, rheumatology, emergency medicine, physical therapy and pain research lecture pain fellows in small group discussions during the year as one part of the didactic program.  Pain medicine attendings also lecture the pain fellows in a similar format in addition to intensive bedside teaching.The Division of Pain Medicine presents three to four conferences to the anesthesiology department eachyear during Departmental Grand Rounds and fellows are encouraged to present cases at these conferences. Fellows participate in bimonthly classic and contemporary journal clubs and quarterly pain medicine morbidity conferences.  There are monthly interdisciplinary conferences with neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery.  In addition, a research curriculum has been developed for fellows which provides advanced training in study design and implementation as well as abstract and manuscript writing. Fellows participate in ongoing research projects or initiate their own studies during training.

Lastly, each fellow develops a Systems-Improvement Project during fellowship training..

Fellow Benefits

In addition to departmental benefits, fellows funded through the Department of Anesthesiology receive:

1. Memberships to the American Pain Society (APS) and American Society of Regional Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine (ASRA)

2. Funding to attend the ASA, ASRA, or an Academic/Research meeting

3. Funding for an additional scientific meeting

Fellows who present an abstract at an approved national scientific meeting will receive funding for their trip, provided the Program Director approves the absence from training.

4. A copy of Dr. Benzon et al.'s textbook: Raj's Practical Management of Pain (2008)

5. $500 Educational Fund

Fellows funded through the Rehabilitation Center of Chicago receive:

1. Memberships to the American Pain Society (APS) and American Society of Regional Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine (ASRA)

2. A copy of Dr. Benzon et al.'s textbook: Raj's Practical Management of Pain (2008)

3. Additional benefits provided by the PM & R Chronic Pain Program.

Click Here for Application and Selection Process