Association of Pain Program Directors
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and
Pain Medicine
Richard L. Rauck, M.D.
Wake Forest University
President
James P. Rathmell, M.D.
University of Vermont
President-Elect
Sunil J. Panchal, M.D.
Cornell University
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes of the Fall Semiannual Meeting
October 14, 2001, New Orleans, LA
In attendance: Marc Hahn, Penn State University (presiding); Richard Rauck, Wake Forest University; James Rathmell, University of Vermont; Sunil Panchal, Cornell University; Lynn Broadman, University of West Virginia, Joshua Greenspan, SUNY Brooklyn; Allen Hord, Emory University; Richard Rosenquist, University of Iowa; Honorio Benzon, Northwestern University; Nagy Mekhail, Cleveland Clinic; Asokumar Buvanendran, Rush-Presbyterian; Sunil Dogra, University of North Carolina; Doris Cope, University of Pittsburgh; Nashaat Rizk, University of Pittsburgh; Joseph Holtman, University of Kentucky; Stephen Abram, University of New Mexico; Rafael Miguel, University of South Florida; Marc Huntoon, Mayo Clinic; Edward Heres, Allegheny General Hospital; Sean Mackey, Stanford University; Joel Kreitzer, Mout Sanai (New York); Brett Stacey, Oregon Health Sciences University; Vildan Mullin, University of Michigan; Kenneth Marshall, Mayo Clinic (Jacksonville); Hugh Allen, Virginia Mason Medical Center
Guests: David Brown, ACGME RRC for Anesthesiology; James Arens, ACGME RRC for Anesthesiology; Patricia Kapur, American Board of Anesthesiology
The minutes of the May 11, 2001 APPD meeting held in Vancouver, BC were approved unanimously.
Elections
Elections were held for the office of Secretary/Treasurer.
Drs. Sunil Panchal and Nagy Mekhail were nominated and the election was carried
out by written ballot. Dr. Panchal was elected. The term of office is two years.
The current officers will ascend to the next higher office: Dr. Hahn to Immediate
Past President, Dr. Rauck to President, and Dr. Rathmell to President-Elect.
Proposal to move the fall APPD meeting to the new ASRAPM
Annual Pain Meeting ASRAPM has established an Annual
Pain Meeting to be held in November of each year. The first meeting will be
held in Phoenix, Arizona, November 14-17, 2002. ASRAPM has proposed an annual
lecture to be given by the President of our organization during this meeting.
ASRAPM has asked that we consider moving the fall meeting of this group from
the ASA Annual Meeting to the new ASRAPM Annual Pain Meeting. After discussion,
the consensus was to keep the AAPD fall meeting during the ASA until we judge
the popularity and success of the new ASRAPM Pain Meeting.
Training non-anesthesiologists within
ACGME-accredited Pain Management Training Programs
Drs. David Brown and James Arens (ACGME RRC for Anesthesiology)
and Dr. Patricia Kapur (Chair, American Board of Anesthesiology Pain Management
Examination Committee) addressed our group regarding training of non-anesthesiologists
within our Pain Management Training Programs. The American Board of Medical
Specialties (ABMS) currently recognizes only a single examination process for
pain medicine specialists, the American Board of Anesthesiology's (ABA) subspecialty
Certificate in Pain Management. In recognition that physicians from a number
of parent disciplines go on to specialize in pain medicine, last year an ABMS
brokered agreement between the three boards, ie: ABA, ABPM&R and ABPN, to
prevent a splintering and duplicative exam, opened the pain management examination
to candidates who qualify for examination through other ABMS recognized primary
specialties. These include physicians certified by the American Board of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
However, all currently existing ACGME-accredited Pain Management Training Programs
are affiliated with anesthesiology residency training programs. Non-anesthesiologists
applying to our Pain Management Training Programs are having great difficulty
with equal access to training.
While the ACGME has adopted Program Training Requirements for other disciplines, it is unclear how physicians from various disciplines can be trained with any degree of consistency such that graduating residents possess similar knowledge and skills. Drs. Arens has called a meeting with representatives from the RRCs for Anesthesiology, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation as well as representatives from the American Board of Pain Medicine (ABPM, which offers board certification in pain medicine and has unsuccessfully petitioned the ABMS to establish a new, primary specialty in pain medicine). This meeting will be held November 12, 2002. Drs. David Brown and James Rathmell have been invited to attend.
Curriculum development
A motion was made suggesting that our group begin development
of a curriculum for subspecialty education in pain medicine to meet the needs
physicians from all relevant parent specialties. This motion was seconded and
approved unanimously. The group agreed to form a working group to help with
preparation of a standardized curriculum when and if the ACGME requests our
input. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) has developed
a core curriculum for professional education in pain, and the group agreed that
this document could serve as a valuable starting point for the development of
a standard curriculum. There was no further discussion of a concrete plan of
action for developing the curriculum.
Establishing membership dues for the
AAPD
The ASRAPM Board of directors chartered AAPD in 1994.
ASRAPM has provided administrative support (transcription and publication of
meeting minutes, meeting notices, the on-line Pain Fellowship Directory) as
well as financial support for our meetings (approximately $3,500/year for meeting
rooms and meals). Our meeting is now well attended and serves as a valuable
forum for discussion of issues relevant to all Pain Management Training Programs.
Our group has been recognized by the ACGME as representing the views of Program
Directors from ACGME-accredited programs. We can no longer rely on the support
of ASRAPM for our meetings. A motion was made that we collect dues in the sum
of $100/year from each ACGME-accredited program to support our activities. The
Ruggles Corporation, the management group that oversees ASRAPM, will provide
administrative support for dues collection and accounting. The motion was seconded
and passed unanimously. ASA Task
Force on Interventional Pain Medicine
Dr. Barry Glazer (ASA President) and James Cottrell (ASA
President-Elect) are assembling a task force on interventional pain medicine.
This task force will examine the role of ASA in representing members who are
active in interventional pain medicine. Members of this group are likely to
be called to serve on this Task Force.
Next meeting
ASRA Spring Meeting, April 2002, Chicago, IL
Respectfully Submitted,
James P. Rathmell, MD
Secretary, Association of Pain Program Directors
