Navigating Your ACGME and NASS Pain Medicine Fellowship Interviews

We answered your questions in this second session of the IPSIS Post-Residency Roadmap with a webinar that focused on the crucial pain medicine program interview. Watch recent fellows describe their experiences and get actionable insights from program directors of both Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited and North American Spine Society (NASS)-recognized fellowships. The panel covered:

• What role does application timing play in getting an interview?
• How do you distinguish yourself as an applicant applying from a different field?
• How do you best prepare for the interview?
• What questions should you ask to gain insight on a program during a virtual interview?
• What are the common interview pitfalls, and how can you avoid them?
• Which type of questions do program directors wish candidates asked more of?
• Do "thank you" notes matter?

Your panel included:

• Gary J. Brenner, MD, PhD, Director, of the ACGME-accredited Massachusetts General Hospital Pain Medicine Fellowship and an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School.
• Zheyan (Jenny) Chen, MD, PhD, an attending interventional pain physician, anesthesiologist at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), who completed both an ACGME-accredited regional anesthesiology fellowship and an ACGME-accredited chronic pain fellowship at OHSU and also serves IPSIS as a member of the Evidence Analysis Committee and on the Early Career Council as an Ambassador to both the Practice Management and Patient Safety Committees.
• Derick Davis, MD, a current pain fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
• Zachary L. McCormick, MD, Vice Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at the University of Utah, where he serves as the ambulatory Chief Value Officer, Chief of Spine and Musculoskeletal Medicine, and the founding director of the PM&R Spine and Musculoskeletal Research Program. Dr. McCormick is also the founding director of the NASS-recognized University of Utah Interventional Spine and Musculoskeletal Medicine fellowship and serves on the IPSIS Board as Treasurer.

The panel was moderated by Heidi Chen, MD, an Attending Spine Physiatrist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Assistant Professor of PM&R at Vanderbilt University Medical School in Nashville, Tennessee, who completed a NASS-recognized fellowship at OSS Health in York, Pennsylvania and serves IPSIS on the Early Career Council Executive Committee. 

Need a hand in getting stated in your program selection? Watch this video designed to help you discover your optimal interventional pain medicine fellowship.