Cross-Specialty · Fellowship Career
Pain Medicine
Multimodal care for chronic and complex pain with procedural and nonprocedural treatment.
Fellowship Length
1 year
After a qualifying residency
Prior Residency
Multiple Eligible Routes
Anesthesiology, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R), Neurology, Psychiatry
Typical Post-MD Training
Varies
Depends on the eligible residency path
Attending Compensation
$399,170
Estimated Base Salary
Training Pathway
Medical School → Residency → Fellowship
Clinical Work and Procedures
- Image-guided injections and nerve blocks
- Neuromodulation evaluation
- Multidisciplinary pain rehabilitation
- Medication and behavioral pain management
Attending Compensation
$399,170
Estimated Base Salary
Schedules and Practice Settings
Pain clinics and procedure centers, usually planned outpatient sessions with variable inpatient consultation.
How to Prepare
During Medical School
Observe a pain consult from evaluation through PT, medications, behavioral therapies and procedural alternatives.
Research or Quality Improvement
Study pain treatment outcomes, opioid safety or functional improvement with validated patient measures.
During Residency
During an eligible residency, build an interdisciplinary pain foundation and review procedural volume versus rehabilitation focus at programs.
A Question to Ask Fellows
Would you enjoy longitudinal complex pain management when a procedure cannot provide a simple fix?
Sources & Data Notes
Reviewed . Fellowship durations and entry routes summarize commonly accredited training pathways. Specific institutions can have different eligibility, early-entry and combined tracks; check program and board requirements for your cycle.
Fellowship Match selection is separate from the medical school residency Match. No residency competitiveness index, MD versus DO residency outcome, or fellowship acceptance percentage is assigned to these pages. National attending compensation uses a source-matched specialty estimate when available; Doximity and Medscape report total compensation, Marit uses smaller opt-in physician samples, and Salary.com models base salary from employer and third-party data. These measures are not interchangeable. Fellowship stipends depend on PGY level and institution.
For Pain Medicine: Salary.com 2026, Estimated Base Salary for the reported “Physician - Pain Medicine” population. This is a national estimate, not a location-specific offer.
Schedules, example procedures, preparation tips and clinical roles are educational descriptions; responsibilities depend on training, practice setting and privileges. This is educational career guidance rather than individualized employment or training advice.