Paul Arnstein PhD RNCS, FNP-C, Associate Professor at the Connell School of Nursing, was selected to receive the Mayday Pain and Society Fellowship. Of the six fellows chosen, Dr. Arnstein was the only nurse.
Established in 2003, the Fellowship provides leaders in the pain management field with tools and skills to advocate on behalf of better treatment for pain. Fellows learn how to better communicate to media and policymakers and raise visibility for their issues.
The three-year Fellowship was established by The Mayday Fund to provide new leaders in the pain management field with tools that will enable them to reach the broader public.
As part of their training, the new Fellows will attend an intensive four-day workshop in Washington, D.C. in October 2006. Fellows will learn how to connect with local and national media, write opinion editorials, develop relationships with university public affairs and government relations leaders, and talk with state legislators and Members of Congress. By improving their communications skills, the candidates will be poised to move the field forward by educating and working with the media, policymakers, advocates, and health and business leaders.
In a sign of the program's success, this year Mayday received the most applications it ever has.
"The caliber of candidates this year was outstanding," said Russell Portenoy, M.D., Chairman of the Mayday Fellowship Advisory Committee, and Chairman of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center. "The twelve Fellows who have been through the program to date are emerging as leaders in pain management," he said. "They bring new energy and focus to pain issues that need so much attention. We know the six new Fellows will expand the effort."