Regional Anesthesia
and Acute Pain Management Fellowship

The Department of Anesthesiology is proud to announce it is offering a Fellowship in Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management for the 2010-2011 academic year. Due to the dramatic increase in the volume of neuraxial and regional anesthesia in the past year and in part due to the renewed emphasis by the Department and new chair on perioperative pain management, the Department is offering a fellowship in Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management for the forthcoming year.

Curriculum

The fellow will receive comprehensive hands-on training in regional and neuraxial anesthesia. The fellow can expect to perform three to five blocks or epidurals per day on days that he or she is acting as a fellow. These blocks will include supraclavicular, infraclavicular, interscalene, and axillary brachial plexus blocks. Lower extremity blocks will include femoral, sciatic, popliteal, lateral femoral cutaneous, and ankle blocks. Other blocks will include deep and superficial cervical plexus, lumbar plexus, intercostal, and paravertebral blocks. The majority of these blocks will be single shots, although some will be continuous infusions. All of the aforementioned blocks will be performed under ultrasound guidance, with supplemental instruction in nerve stimulation as necessary. The fellow can expect to perform several thoracic epidurals per day as all major abdominal and chest cases receive thoracic epidurals as part of our comprehensive approach to post surgical pain management.

In addition to the aforementioned hands on training, the fellow will round daily with the acute pain management team and manage all continuous peripheral nerve catheters and thoracic epidurals. The fellow will also participate in the pharmacologic management of post operative pain including, but not limited to the use of opiods and opiates, patient controlled analgesia, and adjunctive medications.

The fellow will also receive formal instruction regarding the use of neuraxial and regional anesthesia including monthly journal clubs in which the fellow is expected to present at least four articles and a didactic lecture series on topics relating to regional anesthesia and acute pain management. In addition, the fellow will be expected to give a grand rounds presentation on a topic of his or her choosing consisting either of independent research or a literature review.

Facilities and Resources

University of California Irvine recently celebrated the opening of a new hospital, with state of the art facilities which include 2 dedicated pre-op block rooms located in the preop holding area. Each of these rooms is equipped with the capacity for full monitoring and allow sterile procedures to be performed preoperatively, thereby maximizing patient safey and minimizing disruption to the flow of O.R. Blocks are also perfomed at the outpatient surgery center in the general preoperative area. Each of these sites has a dedicated regional General Electric Logiq ultrasound machine with a variety of probes available.

The anesthesia acute pain service carries a census of between two and fifteen patients daily and has a dedicated nurse practitioner. The service is covered by a nurse practitioner or resident with an attending 24/7. Consults are initially seen by the resident or nurse practitioner, and staffed by the acute pain attending daily.

Salary

The anesthesia acute pain fellow will work part time as a clinical instructor two days per week, thereby self funding his or her fellowship. His or her salary will be approximately $80,000 per annum with benefits. 4 weeks vacation and 1 week of conference time is provided as well as a $1600 educational fund.

Application Process

Applicants will be initially asked to submit his or her curriculum vitae, 2 letters of recommendation, and a personal statement expressing why he or she is interested in regional anesthesia. Qualified applicants will be invited to interview with two acute pain management faculty members as well as the chair. Since the fellow will also be acting as a clinical instructor and teaching residents several days per week, he or she will also interview with an operations officer, a vice or associate chair, and the program director.

Contact Information

Please direct all inquires to (email preferred):

Steven Suydam, M.D.
Fellowship Director
ssuydam@uci.edu

Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care
Division of Acute Pain Management and Regional Anesthesia
101 The City Drive South
Bldg. 53
Orange, CA 92868