Library
APS Bulletin • Volume 13, Number 5, 2003
Board Member Profile
An Interview with Robert N. Jamison, PhD
What led you to specialize in pain?
I was working as a clinical psychologist in a state psychiatric hospital in 1980 when I decided to go back to school to complete a post-doctorate in behavioral medicine. I was involved in the oncology and hematology clinics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Dr. Winston Parris from the anesthesiology department invited me to join him in opening a pain management center. The rest is history.
Who has most influenced your work?
I have been privileged to know many excellent pain researchers, and there are many colleagues whom I greatly admire, but one of the most influential people in my career has been my doctoral professor, Dr. Hans Eysenck. He is a well-known psychologist who had written extensively about personality differences. He initially sparked my interest in studying how individuals react to medical problems and chronic illness. I still use many of his techniques and principles in the assessment of individual differences in people with chronic pain.
In what ways has the field changed since you began your career?
This field has undergone a number of significant changes. For example, when I started at the Vanderbilt Pain Control Center, I helped patients manage their chronic pain without the use of opioid medication. During the past 20 years, there has been a greater willingness to prescribe opioids for noncancer pain. Now I focus on helping many people manage their pain while on opioids. Also, the lack of reimbursement for nonmedical treatments has changed the landscape of pain treatment centers. There are fewer pain programs with a purely rehabilitation approach.
What are your areas of interest in the field?
I am most interested in determining who benefits from what pain treatments. I have ongoing studies focused on understanding who benefits from opioid therapy for chronic pain. I am also very interested in the use of remote data entry. With the advent of palmtop computers, interactive voice-response programs, and the ability to capture time-stamped data with electronic diaries, more investigators and clinicians are recognizing the advantages of electronic data collection. This will likely become the standard basis of treatment in the future.
What has been the most rewarding experience of your career?
I would like to believe I have helped some people with chronic pain better deal with their suffering. There are many who have been devastated because of their persistent pain. It is rewarding when some show significant improvement and are grateful for the attention and care they have received. I hope there will be many more rewarding experiences ahead.
What is the major challenge you face on a daily basis?
I have tried to maintain a balance between a full-time clinical practice and an active clinical research program. It can be done, but it requires considerable time management. I am now called on to mentor others and take up some administrative responsibilities. Fortunately, despite many hectic days, I continue to enjoy what I do.
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in the field?
Over the years, I have dabbled in a number of different areas of study within the field of pain. I have been interested in the effect weather has on pain, in pain’s influence on memory and concentration, in weight gain, pain classification, helpfulness ratings of treatment, efficacy of acupuncture, and substance abuse potential. I guess I have always been curious about a lot of things. It might have been better if I had focused my research on one primary area first and then branched out from there. Collaboration with others you respect and admire is also the key to success.
Robert N. Jamison, PhD, is an associate professor in anesthesia and psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston.
