Chief of Pain Medicine Says He Shifted to Anesthesiology After Exposure to ASRA and RAPM

The award will be presented during ASRA’s 20th Annual Pain Medicine meeting to be held November 18-20, 2021, in San Francisco, CA, and virtually.

Dr. Vorenkamp is chief of the Division of Pain Medicine at Duke University in Durham, NC. He is also the associate director of Patient Safety and Quality Improvement and an associate professor in the department of anesthesiology.

“As my personal career trajectory has shifted into areas of coding, compliance, and advocacy focus, I have been pleased to see that ASRA has expanded its mission to include advocacy to support its members.” - Dr. Kevin E. Vorenkamp

Dr. Vorenkamp said he was “greatly honored” to receive the award, adding that ASRA “has remained a major influence in my education, growth, and development over the past 15 years.”

“It was my initial exposure to regional anesthesia and to ASRA and the RAPM (Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine) journal that reinforced my desire to shift my career planning from orthopedic surgery to anesthesiology— and eventually pain medicine. The support I have received from ASRA, the leadership board, and the many ASRA members and friends has contributed greatly to my growth in the field.

“As my personal career trajectory has shifted into areas of coding, compliance, and advocacy focus, I have been pleased to see that ASRA has expanded its mission to include advocacy to support its members. I thank the ASRA board for honoring my contributions to the field of anesthesiology and pain medicine,” Dr. Vorenkamp said.

From 2012 to 2018, Dr. Vorenkamp was employed by the Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA, as a member of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine where he also served as pain medicine fellowship director. Previously, from 2007 to 2012, he was medical director of the University of Virginia’s Pain Management Center, director of its Pain Medicine Fellowship, and an assistant professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine. He is Board certified in both anesthesiology and pain medicine.

Dr. Vorenkamp received a bachelor of arts from Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH, in 1998, and his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, in 2002. He completed his internship at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, MI, and a residency in anesthesiology at the University of Michigan Health System. He completed a fellowship in pain medicine at Fletcher Allen Healthcare / University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, in 2007.

Dr. Vorenkamp is a frequently invited speaker at national pain management conferences, including ones offered by the American Academy of Pain Medicine, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Medical Association, Spine Intervention Society, ASRA, and others.

His work has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed medical journals, and he has coauthored seven book chapters. Dr. Vorenkamp is also a manuscript reviewer for Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Pain Practice, Pain Medicine, Neuromodulation, and PM&R, the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

He has been active in ASRA, serving on several of the organization’s committees and subcommittees as well as chairing ASRA’s 2017 Annual Pain Medicine Meeting.