1 Contact Hour Pain Management

Course overview

Pain is experienced differently by different people. The experience of pain and how people react to it varies with culture, age, and co-existing medical or mental health conditions. To add to the complexity of the pain phenomenon is the way people respond to treatment of pain. Persons with the same diagnosis may receive nearly identical treatment but respond quite differently to such treatments. This makes it especially important to assess pain carefully and to develop an individualized plan of care for each patient. At the completion of the course, the learner will be able to: 1. Define pain. 2. Differentiate between acute and chronic pain. 3. Define various types of pain. 4. Discuss the impact of pain. 5. Describe the physiology of pain. 6. Conduct a pain assessment. 7. Describe treatment options for pain management. Any effective pain management program depends on an interdisciplinary approach. Even though specific disciplines have specific areas of expertise, everyone must work together. Working in isolation can be dangerous to the patient. Remember, too that the patients and their families are the most important members of the team! If they do not agree with and support the plan of care compliance will be poor. Patients may not take prescribed medications unless they understand why they are taking them. They need to know that certain side effects should be reported so that doses can be adjusted. If they do not know this they may simply stop taking necessary medications without informing their healthcare providers. Effective pain management can only be achieved by the coordinated efforts of the entire team!