Pain Management

The pain program continues to be very active in pain education at the undergraduate level. This includes a well-attended Year 4 elective on Pain Medicine. This is a multi-disciplinary course provided by anesthesiologists, neurologists, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a palliative care specialist, and a pharmacist. This past year, the ICE hours were increased by the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry Curriculum Committee from 12 to 18 hours, with a future hope of increasing this to 36 hours annually.

Anesthesia residents rotate through the Pain Clinic for at least one block (more if requested). We also offer Physical Medicine residents a three-month rotation as part of their training requirement. Pain Management continues to be a popular elective with Family Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology, and Psychiatry Residents.

The Royal College Pain Medicine Subspecialty Program is a two year multidisciplinary training program, which includes Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Neurology, Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation, and Rheumatology. The curriculum received official approval from the Royal College in June, 2013. The former Program Director, Dr. Geoff Bellingham was responsible for preparing the Western University application for accreditation.

Interdisciplinary Pain Rounds (MAINPORT –accredited) are presented on the fourth Thursday of each month and feature invited speakers with national and international reputations. A list of seminar topics and lectures are available in the weekly electronic newsletter for the Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine.”