Fellowship Description and Goals

brochure

Pain Medicine Fellowship Application

The University of Utah Pain Management Center was founded as an interdisciplinary operation in 1980. It was initially a joint effort of the Department of Anesthesiology and Psychiatry, then The Department of Anesthesiology and The University Hospital from the mid-1990's to present.

 The Pain Management Center is free standing with medical staff (Primarily Anesthesiology and various representation of other specialties), rehabilitation staff (physical therapy and occupational therapy with outside vocational rehabilitation), Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy working in an integrated setting. The fellows gain experience in all of the above clinical areas using a rehabilitation model (the center has been CARF accredited as a Pain Center for over 10 years). Most patients are evaluated by all services, discussed in a staff meeting where treatment plans are formulated usually involving coordinated care by the medical, rehabilitation and behavior medicine providers. Clinical pharmacy is quite helpful as we often encounter difficult medication issues.

 Medical Care is delivered by Pain Medicine Board Certified Anesthesiologists. Care is both medical and interventional with an ideal balance of both. While often the medical team is involved with medication management, patients also undergo invasive procedures for diagnosis or treatment (we offer a full range of intervention procedures, including implantable spinal cord stimulators and intrathecal pumps).

 We train fellows, residents, and students with emphasis on the fellowship training. We currently train three fellows per year in our ACGME accredited Pain Medicine Fellowship (accredited since 1996, last ACGME review in 2006 with 5 year accreditation). Our fellows easily meet and exceed ACGME training requirements including those for interventional procedures.

 Fellows train at the Pain Management Center for about 8 months and complete the other requirements such as Acute Pain, Cancer Pain, Palliative Care, Orthpaedic Spine, Pediatric Pain, Headache Clinic, and Pelvic Pain Clinic at the University of Utah Hospital, Huntsman Cancer Hospital and the Veterans' Administration Hospital, all located close to the Pain Management Center.

 Associated with the fellowship, the Pain Management Center, and the Department of Anesthesiology is the Pain Research Center. Numerous clinical and basic science research projects are ongoing. Many are NIH funded. Fellows are encouraged to become involved in research and other academic projects.

If you have additional questions or would like to submit and application to the program, please contact Katija Snow at Katija.Snow@hsc.utah.edu, or by phone at (801) 581-6393.

 Faculty:
Shane Brogan, M.D. 
Fellowship and Medical Director, Assistant Professor
Bradford D. Hare, M.D. Ph.D  
Associate Professor
Dan Drennan, M.D. 
Assistant Professor
Perry Fine, M.D.
Professor
Scott Junkins, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Akiko Okifuji, Ph.D  
Professor
 

Acute Pain Service:
Jennifer Davis, MD  
Co-Director, Associate Professor
Jeffrey Swenson, MD  
Co-Director, Professor
Steven Bott, MD 
Associate Professor
Gloria Cheng, MD  
Assistant Professor
Ken B. Johnson, MD, MS
Associate Professor
Evelyn Loose, MD 
Assistant Professor
Jeffrey Lu, MD 
Professor
Scott Richardson, MD    
Associate Professor
Elizabeth Thackeray, MD    
Assistant Professor
 

Pain Research Center:
C. Richard Chapman, Ph.D   
Center Director, Professor
David Bradshaw, Ph.D 
Assistant Professor
Gary Donaldson, Ph.D 
Professor
Robert C. Jacobson, Ph.D 
Adjunct Assitant Professor
Yoshio Nakamura, Ph.D  
Assistant Professor
Akiko Okifuji, Ph.D  
Professor
Ernest Volinn, Ph.D
Associate Professor