The Interventional Pain Specialist Training sponsored by the National Capital Region Pain Initiative (NCRPI) brings education and specialty skills to DoD Pain Fellowship Trainee and other trained pain physicians. In 2020 due to COVID-19, this course historically was a 3 day in-person training with live models and cadavers and was converted into a 1 day virtual skills training.

This 1-full day virtual course offers an opportunity for all military incoming pain fellows, current pain fellows and staff to learn about emerging techniques of interventional pain management including musculoskeletal ultrasound, fluoroscopic directed injections, and the biopsychosocial aspects of the patient in pain. Due to the pandemic, this training was conducted via Zoom with all live share video and presentation mode.

The agenda for the day provided both a basic and advanced overview on a number of techniques. The first part of the day was dedicated to lecture and discussion on understanding spine and MSK anatomy while utilizing fluoroscopic and ultrasound imaging, integrating the biopsychosocial model for pain with neuromodulation and medication management, and demonstrating basic and advanced fluoroscopic guided interventional techniques. The pain health psychologist moved on to cover a more in depth overview of psychological evaluation and neuro-modulation, what and how patients need to be assessed, and the importance of recommendations for appropriate selection of patients for neuromodulation. The evaluations for neuromodulations were explained there as a detailed overview of the neuromodulation procedure including history, mechanisms, indications, concerns, complications, manufacturers and procedural techniques. The day concluded with a presentation on Musculoskeletal Ultrasound procedures discussing why to use ultrasound opposed to other methods, advantages and disadvantages to this method, indications and contraindications, sonographic textures, knobology, procedure planning, approaches and other basic techniques.

This training is specifically for training pain fellows in the DoD and currently trained DoD pain physicians.