Pain Management Awareness for Pharmacists

Course overview

According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), pain can be defined in general terms as an unpleasant emotional and sensory experience that is associated with potential or actual damage to tissue. Pain is a subjective experience that is influenced by psychological, biological, and social factors. At times, people will report that they are experiencing pain even in the absence of tissue damage or pathophysiology (IASP, 2021). Pain is not always curable, and there are a number of approaches to its treatment. The appropriate treatment plan can vary significantly, depending on the cause of pain, patient-specific factors, and personal preference. A comprehensive pain treatment plan is often a multimodal approach, requiring the use of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options. A thorough understanding of the available therapies is necessary to provide optimal care to a patient in pain. This course serves as an overview of pain, its evaluation, and treatment (US National Library of Medicine, 2021).