The mission of the Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Fellowship is to nurture the compassion, scholarship, citizenship and inquisitiveness of trainees who are invested in alleviating the pain perioperative and peri-trauma patients endure. Our goal is to provide an education that allows these physicians to reach their full potential as expert consultants in advanced regional anesthesia techniques and acute pain management.

The learning experience for the RAAPM fellowship has been carefully selected to offer a combination of teaching methods that we hope cater to every kind of learner. These include faculty lead didactics, journal clubs and case conferences, ultrasound simulation, a Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) rotation (lead by critical care faculty), and dedicated time for self-directed learning with multimedia content from the Anesthesia Toolbox.  Fellows also collaborate with our colleagues in neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery and plastic surgery, as well as neurologists and radiologists, in multidisciplinary spine and peripheral nerve conferences, in order to understand the full scope of peripheral nerve and spinal tract complications. 

In 2023, we performed 4,000 nerve blocks, of which 400 were continuous peripheral nerve catheters. We perform most regional anesthesia techniques including sub-gluteal sciatic blocks, lumbar plexus, cervical plexus, paravertebral blocks, suprascapular nerve blocks, brachial plexus blocks, cervical and lumbar selective nerve root blocks, stellate ganglion blocks, thoracic epidurals – to name a few. Ultrasound, landmarks, nerve stimulators (including high frequency sensory stimulation) and fluoroscopy are all utilized to identify targets for regional anesthesia. Faculty are frequently recognized in surveys and feedback for their strong commitment to education and an eagerness to employ the latest regional anesthesia techniques.

We believe that a well-balanced educational experience and work-life balance is critical to our fellows’ growth and wellness. To this end, starting with the 2025-26 class, fellows will no longer be required to work weekends. To create a culture of inquiry, fellows will receive at least 20 percent dedicated non-clinical time for self-directed education and scholarship. Moonlighting is permitted by the program. We support J1 visa and will support H1B visas for exceptional candidates.

We are honored to be a community for the fellows who join us and hope to serve them in all their endeavors.

This program will use the SF Match.