Clinical Associate Physician – Pain Medicine

Pain MedicineFull-Time

Listed compensation

$435k-$525k

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about call expectations, weekend coverage, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 5m ago · Verified live

Job Description

Who We Are

Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report.

The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs.

It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide.

To learn more about UC Irvine, visit uci.edu.

UCI Health seeks to deliver the highest quality and most advanced comprehensive care to Orange County. Our dedicated team includes nationally recognized physicians and surgeons, who are committed to providing a comprehensive and multidisciplinary patient focused approach to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease.

Your Role on the Team

We are recruiting a full-time, board-certified/board-eligible physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) with specialized training in Pain Medicine. Fellowship training in Pain Medicine is required.

Primary responsibilities include providing comprehensive evaluation and management of acute and chronic pain conditions, performing appropriate interventional pain procedures, and developing an outpatient pain medicine practice at UCI Health community clinical sites.

The ideal candidate will be motivated to grow a practice and foster collaborative relationships with primary care physicians, specialists, rehabilitation providers, and other clinicians across the UCI Health system.

This opportunity will be a part of the expanding Specialty Care Associates (SCA) community network at UCI, working alongside other physicians and surgeons in the SCA network. UCI is a leader in patient quality and safety outcomes.

Your Role on the Team

  • Provide excellent clinical care.
  • Provide outpatient PM&R and pain medicine consultations and follow-up care at UCI Health community sites.
  • Develop and expand a multidisciplinary pain medicine practice, including appropriate image-guided interventional pain procedures within the physician’s training and clinical privileges.
  • Communicate and collaborate with faculty, colleagues, residents, fellows, staff, and peers to maintain a professional, team-based approach to patient care.
  • Adhere to departmental policies, procedures, and objectives and comply with all UC policies and procedures.
  • Maintain patient confidentiality and comply with all state and federal privacy laws.

What It Takes to be Successful

Required

  • Candidates must possess an M.D., D.O., or MBBS degree.
  • Successful completion of an accredited PM&R residency and Pain Medicine fellowship.
  • Board certification/eligibility in PM&R and Pain Medicine.
  • Eligible for California medical licensure.
  • Active and current Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) certification.
  • Demonstrated experience in quality improvement to improve patient outcomes.

Leadership skills; ability to motivate, inspire, communicate with faculty, residents, staff, and peers to maintain a professional, team-based approach in the care of patients.

Adhere to departmental policies, procedures, and objectives while in compliance of all UC policies and procedures. Maintain patient confidentiality and comply with all state and federal privacy laws.

Experienced in providing and/or oversight of care.

Total Rewards

In addition to the salary range listed below, we offer a wealth of benefits to make working at UCI even more rewarding. These benefits may include medical insurance, sick and vacation time, retirement savings plans, and access to a number of discounts and perks. Please utilize the links listed here to learn more about our compensation practices and benefits.

Benefits-eligible base salary compensation for this PM&R Pain Medicine position: $435,000 - $525,000.

In addition, candidates may be eligible for performance-based incentive compensation in accordance with the applicable compensation plan.

Conditions of Employment

The University of California, Irvine (UCI) seeks to provide a safe and healthy environment for the entire UCI community. As part of this commitment, all applicants who accept an offer of employment must comply with the following conditions of employment:

  • Background Check and Live Scan
  • Employment Misconduct*
  • Legal Right to work in the United States
  • Vaccination Policies
  • Smoking and Tobacco Policy

Drug Free Environment

*Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

The following additional conditions may apply, some of which are dependent upon business unit or job specific requirements.

  • California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act
  • E-Verify

Pre-Placement Health Evaluation

Details of each policy may be reviewed by visiting the following page - hr.uci.edu

Closing Statement

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy.

We are committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce along with honoring unique experiences, perspectives, and identities. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable, and welcoming.

UCI provides reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities upon request. For more information, please contact Human Resources at (949) 824-0500 or eec@uci.edu.

Consideration for Work Authorization Sponsorship

Must be able to provide proof of work authorization

Key Responsibilities

Provide comprehensive evaluation and management of acute and chronic pain conditions while performing interventional pain procedures. Develop and expand a multidisciplinary pain medicine practice at UCI Health community clinical sites.

Requirements

Candidates must possess an M.D., D.O., or MBBS degree with completion of an accredited PM&R residency and Pain Medicine fellowship. Board certification or eligibility in PM&R and Pain Medicine is required, along with active DEA certification and California medical licensure.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure
Experience
5+ years of experience

Certifications

DEA License

Key Skills

Clinical evaluationPatient managementTeam-based careCommunicationImage-guided procedures

Pain Medicine — Physician Career Context

Of the 48 active Pain Medicine listings this role was benchmarked against, 4% are remote, 67% have no call, 48% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$480k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $434k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

What does the Pain Medicine market look like in California?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$435k–$525kPain Medicine median $575k (middle half $481k–$620k)65 comparable listings, Oct 2026
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$434k in purchasing powerCalifornia index 110.7 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Pain Medicine listings in California11 active141 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 4% remote · 67% no call · 48% no weekends48 benchmarked listings
Pain Medicine pay trend−12.5% vs prior quarter—through Sep 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Oct 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Pain Medicine Jobs

24 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

24 jobs · 15 employers
5
<$405k
10
$405k-505k
1
$575k
6
$605k-705k
2
$705k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

23 jobs · 15 employers
Sign-on bonus
74%
401k / retirement match
61% this job
CME allowance
48%
Relocation assistance
22%
Loan repayment
17%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Anesthesiologist Dallas (DFW) TX

Healthcare Recruitment Counselors · Dallas, Texas

$430K - $770K
#2

Physician - Interventional Pain Management

Capital Health (US) · New Jersey

$430k-$709k
#3

Interventional Pain Management Physician | $500K Base | $700K+ Expected | Stuart, Florida

$500K - $700K+
#4

Pain Management Physician | $500K Base | $700K+ Expected | Jacksonville Beach, Florida

$500k-$700k
+ 22 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.2this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Pain Medicine listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 137 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • On-site
University of California, Irvine logo

About University of California, Irvine

Hospitals and Health Care
Orange, California
5,001-10,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Medical insurance
Sick and vacation time
Retirement savings plans
Access to discounts and perks
Performance-based incentive compensation

Living in Placentia

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$999k≈ 2.3× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,882/mo≈ 8% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
27 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
113.6
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026), Zillow market rents (Sep 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.