Pain Medicine Fellow

Overview

Pain medicine training at Alfred Health offers a high standard of training in chronic pain in an interdisciplinary setting, acute pain, complex pain and cancer pain management.

Training is accredited by the Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM) of the Australian & New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) for core training and practice development towards Fellowship of FPM.

Fellowship in Pain Medicine is a post-specialisation qualification in Australia and New Zealand. 

Candidates should apply to the Faculty of Pain Medicine for trainee registration and information about fellowship training requirements.

We are seeking either:

• Advanced trainees nearing completion of medical specialty training in their primary specialty

or

• Holders of relevant medical fellowship specialty: anaesthesia, rehabilitation medicine, surgical specialties, psychiatry, a branch of internal medicine, or general practice

Pain medicine

The field of pain medicine recognises that the management of severe pain problems requires the skills of more than one medical and allied health craft group.

Such problems include acute pain, persistent (chronic) pain and cancer related pain:

• Acute pain (postoperative ward rounds, post-trauma, post burns, acute episodes of pain in medical conditions)
• Persistent (chronic) pain (including over 200 conditions described in the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Taxonomy of Chronic Pain (second edition), such as phantom limb pain, post-herpetic neuralgia, mechanical low back pain)
• Cancer pain (pain directly due to tumour invasion or compression, pain related to diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, pain due to cancer treatment)

The pain medicine specialist serves both as a consultant to other physicians and often as the principal treating physician. Spectrum of care includes medical assessment and management including prescribing medication, directing a multidisciplinary team for rehabilitative management, psychological and functional assessments, counselling patients and families, performing pain relieving/modulating procedures, collaborating with other health care professionals, liaising with public and private agencies, updating, teaching and research in best practice of pain medicine, leading multidisciplinary teams and research.

Educational goals

The successful candidate would be expected to develop advanced skills in pain management which will include:

• Acute pain, including post-operative ward rounds, post-trauma, post-burns and acute episodes of pain in medical conditions
• Chronic pain, working in multidisciplinary pain management with full understanding and management of physical, psychological and social factors involved in service delivery
• Cancer pain management in all aspects: directly due to tumour invasion or compression, pain related to diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, pain due to cancer treatment)
• Pain related interventions: indications, assessment of patient suitability, complications and technical skills (if required)
• Basic research skills and quality management in health care

Structure

The training program offers full time appointments working across two campuses:

• Caulfield Hospital for the chronic pain service
• The Alfred for acute pain, cancer pain and complex pain inpatients

Trainees participate in the weekly FPM trainee tutorials run jointly by centres in Melbourne. There are regular Alfred Health onsite pain education activities, grand rounds and library access.

After hours commitment

The fellow is not expected to participate in after-hours rosters, except for a monthly half-day round on Saturdays. A half a day can be made available for practice in The Alfred or Caulfield Hospital, in the primary specialty field of the trainee, if desired.

Remuneration

Remuneration is according to the AMA Victoria – Victorian Public Health Sector – Doctors in Training Enterprise Agreement 2018 - 2021.

Applicant

The applicant would need to be or have:

• Registered as a medical practitioner with the Australian Health Practitioners Registration Agency (APRHA)
• Fellowship in designated Specialty or be an advanced trainee in specialty training recognised in Australia by the Australian Medical Council
• Registered as a Trainee with Faculty of Pain Medicine
• Intending to complete Fellowship of the Faculty of Pain Medicine by Qualification, Training and Examination
• Successful completion of the Foundation Faculty of Pain Medicine Exam prior to commencement of training so training time is accredited.