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FNB · Anaesthesia, Pain and Critical Care

Pain Medicine — FNB reading list.

What a two-year FNB fellow in Pain Medicine reads, and what each title is for.

All 41 branches
7Titles listed
4Read cover to cover
2 yrsFellowship length
400Marks in the exit exam
The fellowship

Pain Medicine at a glance

Chronic, cancer and interventional pain management, nerve blocks and neuromodulation.

DisciplineAnaesthesia, Pain and Critical Care
Length2 years, full-time at an NBEMS-accredited hospital
Entered fromDNB/MD Anaesthesia (Anaesthesiology)
EntranceFET, the NBEMS Fellowship Entrance Test — 100 questions in 105 minutes, Part-A from the feeder specialty and Part-B from this fellowship.
How this list is used

Reading for Pain Medicine

Pain medicine fellows generally keep one large reference for theory and one atlas for procedures, and the atlas is the book that lives in the block room. Bonica and Wall & Melzack are the texts people cite in thesis work and read for mechanisms, taxonomy and the chronic pain chapters; Benzon's Practical Management of Pain is the one most fellows actually read end to end because it is organised the way clinics run. Waldman's atlas is kept beside the C-arm and ultrasound machine for approach, landmarks and needle end-point on every interventional list. Dureja's handbook is widely used in Indian pain clinics as a quick, locally-pitched reference, and ASRA guidance is the default for anticoagulation and infection-control decisions before a block.

Titles are tagged core reading — the ones fellows finish — or reference, the ones they look things up in. Editions are given where the current edition is what you want to buy.

  1. Bonica's Management of Paincore readingJames P. Rathmell, Robert R. Edwards, Christopher J. Gilligan (eds.) · Wolters Kluwer · 6th editionThe reference of record for pain mechanisms, taxonomy and syndrome-based management, and the usual citation in thesis and seminar work.
  2. Practical Management of Paincore readingHonorio T. Benzon, James P. Rathmell, Christopher L. Wu, Dennis C. Turk, Charles E. Argoff, Robert W. Hurley (eds.) · Elsevier · 6th editionRead cover-to-cover through the fellowship because it is organised the way a pain clinic actually works, from assessment to intervention.
  3. Wall & Melzack's Textbook of Paincore readingStephen McMahon, Martin Koltzenburg, Irene Tracey, Dennis C. Turk (eds.) · Elsevier · 6th editionThe basic-science anchor, used for nociception, plasticity and psychological chapters when preparing theory answers.
  4. Atlas of Interventional Pain Managementcore readingSteven D. Waldman · Elsevier · 6th editionKept in the procedure room for approach, target and needle end-point on every fluoroscopy- and ultrasound-guided block.
  5. Essentials of Pain MedicinereferenceHonorio T. Benzon, Srinivasa N. Raja, Scott M. Fishman, Spencer S. Liu, Steven P. Cohen (eds.) · Elsevier · 4th editionShort-chapter format used for rapid revision before rounds and for last-minute viva preparation.
  6. Handbook of Pain MedicinereferenceG. P. Dureja · Elsevier India · 2nd editionA locally pitched clinic handbook widely used in Indian pain services for drug schedules and day-to-day management decisions.
  7. ASRA Pain Medicine Practice Guidelines and AdvisoriesreferenceAmerican Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain MedicineThe default checkpoint for anticoagulation, infection control and neuraxial safety before any interventional procedure.

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The exit examination

What you are reading towards

The exit examination is the FEE - Fellowship Exit Examination, held after completion of the fellowship training. Theory: one paper of 100 marks (10 questions of 10 marks each) of three hours' duration. Practical: 300 marks, comprising clinical examination and viva voce. A candidate must obtain a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate across theory and practical (200 of 400) to qualify, with the theory paper itself to be passed at 50/100. Trainees must also appear in the formative assessment during training. Successful candidates are awarded the FNB (or FNB-PD) at the annual NBEMS convocation.

How FNB entry and the FEE work, in full ›

Anaesthesia, Pain and Critical Care

Other fellowships in this group

All 41 branchesPaediatric AnaesthesiaOnco-AnaesthesiaTransplant AnaesthesiaTrauma Anaesthesia & Critical Care
Related on the site

Going further in Pain Medicine

DNB Anaesthesiology booksDNB Palliative Medicine books

Printing your Pain Medicine fellowship reading?

Send the PDF on WhatsApp — colour Rs 1/page, B&W 50p/page, binding Rs 40. Printed, bound and delivered anywhere in India.

Frequently asked

FNB Pain Medicine — questions

Which books do FNB Pain Medicine fellows read?

The 7 titles on this page, of which 4 are read cover to cover and the rest are kept as references. Most fellows own two or three and use the department copy for the others.

How long is the FNB in Pain Medicine?

2 years, full-time at an NBEMS-accredited hospital, followed by the Fellowship Exit Examination.

Which specialty do you enter FNB Pain Medicine from?

DNB/MD Anaesthesia (Anaesthesiology)

How is the FNB exit examination marked?

One theory paper of 100 marks with ten questions of ten marks each, and a 300-mark practical of clinical examination and viva. A candidate needs 50 per cent in aggregate across the two.

Can you print this reading for me?

We print from the PDF you send us. Send the file on WhatsApp with your page count and whether you want colour, black and white or mixed, and we print, bind and deliver anywhere in India. We do not supply copyrighted book files.