You are here

  • Home
  • Online First
  • Current state of the pain medicine match: perspective and an eye to the future

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Education
Current state of the pain medicine match: perspective and an eye to the future
  1. Anuj Kailash Aggarwal1,
  2. Meredith Barad2,
  3. Nu Cindy Chai3,
  4. Timothy Furnish4,
  5. Puneet Mishra5,
  6. Lynn Kohan6,
  7. Susan Moeschler7,
  8. Rajiv D Reddy8 and
  9. Bhavana Yalamuru9
  1. 1Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
  2. 2Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Redwood City, California, USA
  3. 3University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
  4. 4Anesthesiology, UC San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
  5. 5Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
  6. 6Divsion of Pain Medicine/dept of anesthesia, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
  7. 7Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA
  8. 8Anesthesia, UC San Diego Health, San Diego, California, USA
  9. 9Anesthesiology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Anuj Kailash Aggarwal, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA; akaggarw{at}stanford.edu

Abstract

The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) for pain medicine fellowships marked its 10th anniversary in 2023, coinciding with growing discussions within the Association of Pain Program Directors (APPD) regarding the program’s future in the context of a recent decline of applicants into pain medicine. This letter explores the rationale behind reassessing the NRMP’s utility for pain medicine, examining historical and current trends, and considering the implications of withdrawing from the match. Despite a recent decline in applicants and an increase in unfilled positions, the APPD advocates for continued participation in the match. The match ensures equitable and stable recruitment, preventing the chaotic pre-match environment of competitive, early offers. Data from similar specialties highlight the pitfalls of non-match systems, such as increased applicant pressure and reduced program visibility. The APPD supports maintaining the NRMP match while implementing reforms like preference signaling to address evolving challenges. The APPD aims to preserve the match’s benefits and ensure a stable future for pain medicine fellowship recruitment.

  • EDUCATION
  • CHRONIC PAIN
  • Internship and Residency

Data availability statement

Data sharing not applicable as no data sets generated and/or analysed for this study.

https://doi.org/10.1136/rapm-2024-105770

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    Data availability statement

    Data sharing not applicable as no data sets generated and/or analysed for this study.

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • X @kohanlynn, @SMoeschlerMD, @Byalamuru

    • Contributors The idea of the article and its content and writing was taken as a collaborative process by all the authors listed who contributed to the genesis of the idea, research/referencing, writing, editing and finalizing the article. AKA is the guarantor.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests LK - institutional funding from FUSMObile, Averitas, Vertex – not relevant to paper.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.