Presented at the 2013 AAPM Annual Meeting « Back

Core Pain Management Competencies for Health Professional Students

Naileshni S. Singh, MD, naileshni.singh@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu¹, Scott Fishman, MD¹, Heather M. Young, PhD RN FAAN¹, Roger Chou, MD², Ellyn L. Arwood, EdD CCC-SLP³, Beth B. Murinson, MS MD PhD⁴, Keela A. Herr, PhD, RN, AGSF, FAAN⁵, Judy Watt-Watson, RN MSc PhD⁶, Ian J. Koebner, MSc, MAOM, LAc⁷, Jennifer Mongoven, MPH⁸, (1) University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California, (2) Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, (3) University of Portland, Portland, Oregon, (4) Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, (5) The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, (6) University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (7) University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California,(8) UC Davis Health System, Sacramento, California

Background: In spite of the prevalence and severity of pain’s impact on patient and society, pain management education is inadequate to meet this need. Furthermore, competencies in pain education have not been widely recognized or advanced. Goals: Develop core competencies in pain management for pre-licensure students that serve as a foundation for clinical education and practice across all health professions. Methods: The co-principal investigators recruited an Executive Committee (EC) of internationally recognized experts in education science who identified a Competency Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising scholars from diverse health backgrounds including pharmacy, nursing, psychology, therapy, social work, and medicine. The group met during a 2-day summit at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine on August 3-4, 2012 to refine domains and core competencies that were initially developed by the EC utilizing a literature review. The group also created a strategic dissemination and endorsement plan for embedding the competencies into curricula. Results: Individual core competencies were divided into 4 comprehensive domains, 1. Multidimensional Nature of Pain: What is pain? 2. Pain Assessment and Measurement: How is pain recognized? 3. Management of Pain: How is pain relieved? 4. Clinical Conditions: How does context influence pain management? Conclusion: This project defined core competencies in pain management through an inter-professional consensus process with international leaders. These competencies will serve as a starting point for driving pain management education into diverse curricula across all clinical professions in the hope of advancing care of those who suffer with pain.

Funding: May Day Fund