Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship

Overview

The Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine (DACCPM) at Massachusetts General Hospital offers two fellows each year a spot in its ACGME-accredited Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship. Regional anesthesia for acute pain is a rapidly growing subspecialty within health care.

During a 12-month period, the fellows will rotate through a broad range of clinical areas including outpatient, inpatient and pediatric regional and acute pain management.

The goal of this fellowship is to provide comprehensive, advanced training for anesthesiologists in all aspects of care related to postoperative pain management with a particular emphasis on regional techniques. The majority of the training is spent within the acute pain service, which has over 9,000 patient encounters annually, and the regional anesthesia service, which performs nearly 4,000 blocks annually.

Fellows are exposed to a wide variety of acute pain and regional strategies (adult and pediatric), including:

• Ultrasound guided single-shot, peripheral and central neuraxial blocks
• Continuous peripheral catheter techniques, including management of an ambulatory catheter program
• Ultrasound guided neuraxial anesthesia (preprocedural lumbar and real-time thoracic)
• Innovative approaches to perioperative acute pain management
• Management of opioid dependence in pregnant patients
• Initiation, dosing and pharmacology of methadone
• Initiation, dosing (including micro-dosing) and pharmacology of buprenorphine
• Use of high dose opioid PCAs and opioid agonist-antagonists including IV to oral conversions
• Management of transdermal systems, such as fentanyl and butrans patches
• Use of non-opioid adjuncts such as ketamine, precedex and lidocaine (infusions available on floor patients)

Curriculum

The Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship offers a comprehensive didactic program for perioperative pain management training. Each rotation's curriculum varies; however, it will generally consist of the following educational opportunities:

• Case conferences
• Faculty lectures
• Grand Rounds
• Multidisciplinary pain conferences
• Journal clubs
• High-fidelity simulation
• Ultrasound workshops

Fellows are expected, and will receive support, to attend the annual American Society of Regional Anesthesia (ASRA) meeting as well as participate in conferences, workshops and mentoring sessions. The meetings include lectures and presentations on topics of particular interest to acute pain and regional anesthesia practitioners.

The fellowship is structured with the following rotations:

• Acute pain and regional anesthesia (eight and a half months)
• Chronic inpatient pain elective (two weeks)
• Obstetric anesthesia elective (two weeks)
• Addiction medicine elective (two weeks)
• Pediatric regional elective (one week)
• Vacation (four weeks)
• Academic day (one day per month)
• Meetings (five days per year)

Program Requirements

The DACCPM at Mass General follows all minimum selection criteria as delineated in the Institutional Policy on Selection (PDF). As a prerequisite for entry, all applicants for the fellowship must be a graduate of one of the following:

• American Osteopathic Association (AOA)-accredited medical school
• Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)-accredited medical school
• USMLE completion requirement for clinical trainees

Applicants must have also completed an anesthesia residency program accredited by one of the following:

• Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)

Visa Information

All residents, clinical fellows, research fellows and staff who are not United States citizens or legal permanent residents must have the appropriate visa in order to receive a Mass General appointment.

For questions regarding a visas, please call the Mass General Brigham Office for Global Professionals and Scholars at 857-282-8211.

How to Apply

The Regional Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine Fellowship participates in the SF Match. Application registration for the 2026-2027 academic year begins on January 6, 2025. The deadline for applications is May 9, 2025. Training begins on July 1, 2026. We will begin offering virtual interviews to qualified candidates in the winter of 2025. Selection is highly competitive and only completed applications will be reviewed.

Learn more about the process to apply

Application Documents

Please submit the following documents via the SF Match website:

• A complete CAS application
• Personal statement describing your interest in the Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship at Mass General and your intended plans after completion of the fellowship
• A current CV
• Medical school transcript
• Medical diploma
• USMLE steps 1, 2 and 3/COMLEX 1, 2 and 3 or equivalent transcripts
• Three (3) letters of recommendation. One letter must be from your residency program director or chief of service
• ECFMG (applicable to international medical graduates)