What does a pain management physician do?
Pain management physicians are medical doctors who diagnose and coordinate treatment while providing care for patients who are experiencing pain. By understanding the physiology of pain, these physicians are required to conduct specialized tests to diagnose complex pain conditions as well as prescribe proper medications and therapies to treat them. They must observe their patients for their ability to function and overall quality of life. Pain management physicians must also work with other healthcare professionals such as physical therapists, physiatrists, and nurses to meet all the needs of their patients.
Pain management physician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real pain management physician resumes:
- Work closely with patients to manage their depression and anxiety beginning with initial diagnosis to med-initiation and follow-up care.
- Perform prosthetic rehabilitation for amputee patients and participate in workshop on post prosthetic rehabilitation.
- Operate EMR (electronic medical record )
- Sell OFIRMEV to surgery centers for use in peri-operative protocols as an analgesic therapy.
- work hardening rehabilitation in an outpatient clinic setting
- Participate in workshop on spinal cord injuries and orthotic rehabilitation.
- Identify and screen patients for appropriate eligibility for protocol study participation.
- Observe pre-surgical evaluations for bariatric surgery and spinal cord stimulator implantation and pre-employment psychological evaluations for law enforcement.
- Order, collect, and perform appropriate laboratory, diagnostic procedures and studies tissue specimens, electrocardiogram, compartment pressure measurements.
- Observe medical procedures such as electrocardiogram.
- Respond to emergency situations pertaining to the newborns requiring immediate intervention and resuscitation.
Pain management physician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 26% of Pain Management Physicians are proficient in Pain Management, Patients, and Primary Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Pain Management Physicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Pain Management, 26%
Dispensed medications for patients on day of visit and also observed doctors with pain management procedures regarding medications.
- Patients, 19%
Provided independent patients evaluations for attorney offices, insurances in respect to Oriental Medicine/Acupuncture field.
- Primary Care, 7%
Consulted with primary care physicians and specialists with regard to complex cases and patient hospital admittance.
- Family Practice, 6%
Billed for Family Practice, Neurology, and Pulmonary clients daily, along with all A/R follow-up, and collections.
- Rehabilitation, 6%
Facilitated business partnership of Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital, an academic affiliate of University of Chicago, with Advanced Rehabilitation Care.
- Surgery, 4%
General Surgery, Ophthalmology, GI
"pain management," "patients," and "primary care" are among the most common skills that pain management physicians use at work. You can find even more pain management physician responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a pain management physician to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what pain management physicians do because "physician assistants must explain complex medical issues in a way that patients can understand." Additionally, a pain management physician resume shows how pain management physicians use communication skills: "managed smooth and effective communication among physicians,patients, families and staff. "
Compassion. Another essential skill to perform pain management physician duties is compassion. Pain management physicians responsibilities require that "physician assistants deal with patients who are sick or injured and who may be in extreme pain or distress." Pain management physicians also use compassion in their role according to a real resume snippet: "establish a compassionate environment by providing emotional, psychological, and spiritual support to patients and their families. "
Detail oriented. pain management physicians are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to pain management physician responsibilities, because "physician assistants should be observant and have a strong ability to focus when evaluating and treating patients." A pain management physician resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "co-facilitated psychoeducation and process-oriented groups for patients in pain management program. "
Emotional stability. A big part of what pain management physicians do relies on "emotional stability." You can see how essential it is to pain management physician responsibilities because "physician assistants, particularly those working in surgery or emergency medicine, should work well under pressure." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical pain management physician tasks: "conducted periodic rounds of patients with epidural catheters to ensure satisfactory pain relief and hemodynamic stability following epidural placement. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a pain management physician to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what pain management physicians relies on this skill, since "physician assistants need to evaluate patients’ symptoms and administer the appropriate treatments." How this skill relates to pain management physician duties can be seen in an example from a pain management physician resume snippet: "calmed upset/angry patients, researched and rapidly solved problems and rebuilt patient trust to prevent the loss of key accounts. "
The three companies that hire the most pain management physicians are:
- Regional West15 pain management physicians jobs
- National Spine & Pain Centers12 pain management physicians jobs
- Integrity Locums5 pain management physicians jobs
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Compare different pain management physicians
Pain management physician vs. Gynecological assistant
A Physician Assistant supports the doctors work and actively facilitates patients recovery. An Internal Medicine uses nonsurgical approaches to treat medical conditions that affect adults.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between pain management physicians and gynecological assistant. For instance, pain management physician responsibilities require skills such as "pain management," "patients," "interventional pain," and "primary care." Whereas a gynecological assistant is skilled in "ob," "lab results," "fetal," and "blood pressure." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that gynecological assistants earn slightly differ from pain management physicians. In particular, gynecological assistants are 12.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a pain management physician. Additionally, they're 7.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pain management physician vs. Anesthetic assistant
Each career also uses different skills, according to real pain management physician resumes. While pain management physician responsibilities can utilize skills like "pain management," "patients," "interventional pain," and "primary care," anesthetic assistants use skills like "surgical instruments," "post-operative care," "bronchoscopes," and "patient check."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Anesthetic assistants tend to reach similar levels of education than pain management physicians. In fact, they're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 7.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pain management physician vs. Physician assistant, internal medicine
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a pain management physician is likely to be skilled in "pain management," "interventional pain," "surgery," and "patient care," while a typical physician assistant, internal medicine is skilled in "bls," "diagnosis," "physical exams," and "internal medicine practice."
Physician assistants, internal medicine make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $126,948. On the other hand, pain management physicians are paid the highest salary in the pharmaceutical industry, with average annual pay of $190,772.Most physician assistants, internal medicine achieve a higher degree level compared to pain management physicians. For example, they're 19.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pain management physician vs. Midlevel provider
Types of pain management physician
Updated January 8, 2025
