David E. Fish, MD

David E. Fish, MD is a Professor in the Department of Orthopedics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Assistant Program Director of the Pain Medicine Fellowship at GLA VA WLA/ UCLA Multidisciplinary program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Fish is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine. He is also a consulting physician for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Fish is a leading expert in the treatment of Non-operative spinal disorders and is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPMR), the Academic Association of Physiatrists (AAP), the Society of Injection Specialists (SIS), and the North American Spine Society (NASS).

Dr. Fish earned his medical degree from New York Medical College in New York, New York. After graduation, he completed a medical internship at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Denver, Colorado, and his residency at The Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was named Chief Resident for 2000 – 2001, before completing a fellowship in Pain Medicine at UCLA / WLA VA Multicampus training Program. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Since joining the staff at UCLA, Dr. Fish was awarded the Distinguished Clinician award by residents for his work in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Clinical Instructor of the Year for David Geffen School of Medicine Medical Student Training, and also received an award for the best research paper of the year by the Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. His research was presented at the National Academy Meeting for PM&R and NASS. He has over 32 peer-reviewed articles in the following journals: Pain Physicians, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, and The Journal of Pain.

An accomplished writer, Dr. Fish was also a co-editor of The Pocketpaedia, a guide for PM&R physicians, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Secrets. 

Dr. Fish has trained all levels of physicians from first-year medical students to practicing physicians. He continues to excel at teaching by gaining recognition and awards by his peers. He has helped train physicians globally with his work as NASS moderator.