Dr. Al-Tamimi reflects the diversity of physicians today who choose to specialize in pain medicine. His personal story of leaving Iraq for the United States contrasts with that of his brother, an orthopedic surgeon who had to flee his practice in Basra due to political persecution. Dr. Al Tamimi’s skill in diagnosing and treating patients was evidenced throughout his fellowship. He joined the St. Joseph’s Hospital of the Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin, in July 2004.

— Doris K. Cope, M.D.

hanging one’s personal career is not a simple decision. All of the major decisions I made during my life, however, were reached with one goal in mind — to be the best physician I could be. I changed my career from neurosurgery to internal medicine to pain medicine, and, at the end, found that pain medicine best fulfills my goals.

Although I trained as a neurosurgeon after I finished medical school, my fascination with pain medicine began a few years ago. I found the practice of pain medicine to be exciting, challenging and rewarding. I do not find the hard work in this field burdensome at all. Rather it has been nothing but a pleasure and has given me great satisfaction.

During all the years of my training in neurosurgery, I saw and treated a lot of patients with multiple injuries resulting from the wars in the Persian Gulf region who suffered from acute pain in the beginning and later from phantom and chronic pain. At that time, there were no pain specialists to which to refer these patients. We needed to treat our patients’ suffering on our own. Those unfortunate days of war gave me a strong incentive to search into the field of pain medicine.

Later when I started practicing neurosurgery, pain medicine continued to fascinate me, especially when I sought to refer a failed back-surgery patient to a pain medicine physician and began to treat trigeminal neuralgia patients on my own with glycerol injections. My continued interest in this field increased substantially, especially after I read more about the history of the revolution in pain medicine from the days of John J. Bonica, M.D., to the present.

When I came to the United States, I kept my interest in pain medicine in mind. I never stopped searching to find a pain fellowship. I tried to get an anesthesiology residency, planning that I would become a pain medicine physician at the end, but because of personal matters, I ended up finishing an internal medicine residency (which I never regretted). Internal medicine and my past neurosurgical training have helped me to succeed in my fellowship.

I became increasingly interested in pain medicine after I started my fellowship because this field offered me greater opportunities for learning than any other specialty. Pain medicine requires leadership, technical skills and a broad background. Each medical case offered me a new learning experience. The only subspecialty that joins other specialties with one common symptom is pain.

A few months ago, my daughter asked me what my specialty was. I told her it was pain medicine. She replied, “But any part of the body can suffer from pain, so you need to know about everything.” I explained to her that that was why I love this specialty, as it widens your knowledge base, is challenging and provides me with the ability to give the best care I can to my patients.

Mazin Al-Tamimi, M.B., Ch.B., is a resident at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Marshfield, Wisconsin.