Dr. David Dickerson, MD

Expert Publications

• Acute pain management.
• Perioperative Medicine for the Junior Clinician.
• Labor Epidural Intolerance Due to a Congenitally Narrowed Spinal Canal.
• Whiplash Injury: Perspectives on the Development of Chronic Pain.

Media Releases

Get to know Anesthesiologist Dr. David Dickerson, who serves patients in Skokie, Highland Park, Glenview and Chicago, Illinois.

A double board-certified, anesthesiologist and pain medicine physician, Dr. Dickerson is the Section Chief for Pain Medicine at NorthShore University HealthSystem. His research and clinical endeavors focus on improving pain care outcomes, neurostimulation for refractory pain, and implementing safe and effective pain care delivery systems. 

While at NorthShore, Dr. Dickerson co-authored a system-wide practice advisory on safe opioid prescribing and leads several quality improvement and clinical initiatives optimizing patient access to non-opioid care across the care continuum. Clinically, he leads the pain services for four hospitals and their outpatient pain clinics including the Integrated Pain Clinic at the NorthShore Orthopedic and Spine Institute in Skokie, IL.

Dr. Dickerson’s clinical interests include the comprehensive treatment of complex pain syndromes including CRPS, nerve injury, neuropathy, myelopathy, spinal stenosis, back pain, sacroiliac joint pain, neck pain, foot pain, abdominal and pelvic pain, generalized pain cancer pain, and facial pain. Utilizing a holistic approach combined with non-surgical and innovative surgical treatments including but not limited to nerve blocks and ablations, nerve and spinal stimulation, minimally invasive spinal decompression, intrathecal drug delivery, and many other treatment options via a multidisciplinary team of therapists and specialists.

Prior to joining the NorthShore System, Dr. Dickerson served as director of the University of Chicago Medicine’s acute pain service and chair for the institution’s Pain Stewardship Program. He currently holds the rank of Clinical Associate Professor at University of Chicago.

Among his various roles, Dr. Dickerson serves as the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ (ASA) Committee on Pain Medicine chair and the ASA liaison to the American Medical Association’s Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force. He serves as an advisory board member for the National Rx and Drug Abuse Summit and the National MALS Foundation, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Midwest Pain Society.  He is a current co-chair of the North American Neuromodulation Society’s guidelines committee. He previously served as the ASA’s liaison to the National Pain Care Coalition and Vice-Chairman of the ASA’s Pain Medicine Committee. In these leadership roles, Dr. Dickerson’s research, education, and advocacy work generated research publications and position statements featured in multiple mainstream media outlets. Dr. Dickerson’s expertise and work have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News Digital, U.S. News and World Report, HealthDay, Healio, Medscape, Anesthesiology News, and the Chicago Tribune.

In regards to his educational background, Dr. Dickerson graduated with his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 2008. He then went on to perform his internship and anesthesiology residency at the University of Chicago Hospitals, followed by his Pain Medicine fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.

Following his training, the doctor attained board certification in anesthesiology and pain medicine through the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). As the certifying body for anesthesiologists since 1938, the ABA is committed to partnering with physicians to advance lifelong learning and exceptional patient care. Its mission is to advance the highest standards of the practice of anesthesiology.

Anesthesiology is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during, and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, pharmacology, physiology and pain management. Anesthesiologists are the physicians that ensure patient comfort and safety during surgical care and throughout patient recovery.

In his professional career, Dr. Dickerson has been extensively engaged in presenting invited lectures on pain management, opioid stewardship, neuromodulation including spinal cord, dorsal root ganglion and peripheral nerve stimulation, as well as, maintaining comprehensive pain care during the opioid epidemic, both at the national and international levels. He has played a crucial role in formulating policies, procedures, and clinical pathways for outpatient and inpatient ketamine and lidocaine infusions to treat challenging cases of pain that do not respond to conventional therapies. Additionally, he has actively contributed to the development of guidelines for opioid and naloxone prescriptions, as well as safe drug disposal methods. 

Dr. Dickerson’s expertise contributes significantly to the realm of academia and research. He lends his editorial services to several prominent anesthesia and pain journals and has made significant contributions to the field by authoring numerous peer-reviewed book chapters and manuscripts in anesthesiology and pain medicine including several innovative randomized control trials in pain management. He has taught several classes on pain and neuroscience for the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and as a project liaison to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’s Health Care Analytics Laboratory.

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