ABOUT THE FLORIDA ACADEMY OF PAIN MEDICINE
OVERVIEW
The Florida Academy of Pain Medicine is a non-profit organization that serves a broad range of clinicians who treat people with pain. The academy is committed to the pursuit of the highest standard of excellence in pain medicine through an integrative approach that relies on the cooperation, shared knowledge and collective wisdom of healthcare professionals from multiple disciplines.
Pain medicine is multi-disciplinary in approach that incorporates various specialty groups to provide for the comprehensive evaluation and treatment of pain inflicted patients. Included in this overall approach to treating pain are such specialties as anesthesiology, neurology, internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, psychiatry and neurological surgery. Pain medicine incorporates such modalities as interventional pain management, ultrasound techniques, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and basic pain treatments.
The Florida Academy of Pain Medicine is dedicated to: the pursuit of the highest standard of excellence in pain medicine; pain patient advocacy; enhancement of the pain physicians’ scope of knowledge; dissemination of the latest research developments; continuing education of the medical community at large; the promotion of a healthy socio-economic climate conducive to the delivery of high quality specialized pain treatment; and education of the public to the benefits and advances of pain management.
OUR HISTORY
The Florida Academy of Pain Medicine has been in service for over 25 years, starting in 1994. During that time, we have grown to have an active and engaged membership. With course offerings throughout the year, we continue to provide the stimulating educational material that our members and sponsors enjoy being a part of.
We are a unique medical specialty society that represents physicians practicing in the field of pain medicine. As such, we are involved with education training, as provided at our annual conference, legislative issues affecting the practice of medicine in Florida, and research of medical issues confronting our members.
What is unique regarding our Academy is that the practice of pain medicine is multi-disciplinary in approach that incorporates various specialty groups to provide for the comprehensive evaluation and treatment of pain inflicted patients. Included in this overall approach to treating pain are such specialties as anesthesiology, neurology, internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, psychiatry and neurological surgery. We incorporate such modalities as interventional pain management, ultrasound techniques, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and basic pain treatments.
MEET THE BOARD
2024-2025 Board Members
Abraham Rivera, MD
Kavita Sharma, DO
Felix Linetsky, MD
Marla Golden
MEET OUR PRESIDENT
Dr. Rivera was born on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, where he graduated from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. He did an internship in General Surgery at San Juan City Hospital and then was deployed to Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska to serve the United States Army. His military service exposed him to the challenges of Emergency Medicine and primary care in an era before MRIs and CT Scanners were readily available. He was honorably discharged and in 1989, started a primary care practice in rural Nebraska where he was the primary care doctor for Genoa Community Hospital.
He practiced there as country doctor for four years. From delivering babies to reducing fractures, Dr. Rivera did it all with little technology and much compassion, dedication, and clinical skills. In 1992, he applied and was accepted for Anesthesiology residency and Pain Management training at Albany Medical Center in New York. After completion of his training, he stayed there in academic and private practice for over a decade.
He had a thriving practice of Pain Management affiliated with Albany Medical Center where he was in charge of training the Anesthesiology residents and CRNA students in the art and science of Pain Medicine.
He relocated to sunny Florida in 2005, where he has been in private practice since. He is currently the Chief Medical Officer of Physician Partners of America, a multi-specialty, multi-state large medical group. He is actively involved in mentoring, leading, and training of physicians in the group and the community interested in acquiring and honing their skills in the performance of interventional pain management procedures.
