Focusing on the Future: Pain Medicine Fellows and Training Innovations
Training pain medicine physicians is at the heart of the American Academy of Pain Medicine’s mission. This month, I’d like to spotlight our Pain Medicine Fellows and the crucial role they play in advancing our field.
In 2021, we launched the AAPM Scholars program to provide Pain Medicine Fellows with didactic and hands-on training in web labs, aiming to teach the theory behind the procedures. To date, we’ve had three successful classes.
Recently, the Academy re-launched the “Pain Rounds” Neuromodulation Fundamentals Course in our On-Demand Education Center. This course, featuring 28 videos with approximately 10 hours of content, has been adopted by most accredited pain fellowships. Research shows significant increases in neuromodulation knowledge, and AAPM membership for trainees is free, offering preferred pricing on the course. We are thrilled to announce the AAPM Foundation recently received an unrestricted education grant from Saluda Medical to produce a closed loop neuromodulation module. The new content will be added to the existing course, creating more value for our scholars.
At our 2024 Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, we presented the session “Global Health & Pain Medicine: Workforce Readiness for the Next 40 Years.” This session featured representatives from the British Pain Society, Canadian Pain Society, Sine Dolore Foundation, and AAPM. We discussed the diverse paths physicians take to pain medicine, from anesthesiology to family medicine, and the varying challenges in different countries. In the U.S., rapid technological advances outpace current training capacities, while insurance payors create significant obstacles to quality care. Canada struggles with an aging population losing access to reliable primary care, and the UK faces long wait times for specialist care due to a strained NHS. Inadequate compensation and heavy workloads contribute to job dissatisfaction and a noticeable brain drain as specialists seek better opportunities abroad. While standardization is challenging, harmonizing pain management practices globally is essential. Our multidisciplinary approach is our strength, but it requires a unified effort to achieve global harmonization.
Our latest Pain Matters Podcast episode, “Pain Medicine Training: A Call for Reformation – Part I,” explores the urgent need for reform in pain medicine training programs. Dr. Scott Gregory Pritzlaff, Associate Professor and Pain Medicine Fellowship Director at UC Davis Health, and AAPM Vice President of Scientific Affairs, Dr. Sayed E. Wahezi, Professor and Pain Medicine Fellowship Director at Montefiore Medical Center, join hosts Dr. Shravani Durbhakula and Dr. Mustafa Broachwala in a conversation that mirrors our workforce readiness discussion at the 40th Annual Meeting.
Our Trainee membership category is growing, energizing AAPM and we are committed to helping the next generation of pain medicine physicians and healthcare professionals succeed, ensuring our patients receive the best pain care possible.
Kind regards,
Charles Argoff, MD
AAPM President