Faculty Guide: Pain and Addiction Curriculum

Welcome!

Thank you for your interest in our Pain and Addiction Curriculum as a training program for your students. The goal of the curriculum is to provide an interactive, clinical skills training program on treating pain patients safely with opioid therapy.

Clinical Skills Training on the Interface of Pain and Addiction

We currently have 2 draft modules available. Please take a moment to review the module objectives. Check back soon as we add more modules to our curriculum!

Doctor speaking to a patient
Learning Objectives

After completing these modules, students will be better able to:

Module 1
  • Understand how use of best practice guidelines lead to treatment fidelity
  • Distinguish between acute and chronic pain and categorize different types of pain correctly
  • Utilize basic approaches to pain assessment based on best practice guidelines
Module 2
  • Apply basic interviewing techniques related to pain assessment
  • Help the patient provide a complete history of pain and pain treatment
  • Develop an initial differential diagnosis to set the stage for investigating chronic pain complaints
Topics Covered
Module 1: Following a Standard Approach Based on Best Practice: Assessment of Acute and Chronic Pain
A. Introduction to Pain Management
B. Understanding Best Practice Guidelines
  1. Using best practice guidelines for pain
  2. Example guidelines for a specific pain condition
C. An Overview of Assessing and Treating Pain
  1. Types of pain
D. General Pain Assessment
  1. Pain history: A standardized approach
    1. P: Provocation, Palliation, and Past
    2. Q: Quality of pain
    3. R: Region of pain/Radiation
    4. S: Severity
    5. T: Timing
    6. U: You (How does pain affect you)
  2. Clinical examination
  3. Ongoing communication: Pain diary
E. Assessment of Acute vs. Chronic Pain
  1. Initial pain assessment, acute vs. chronic pain
  2. Underlying diseases responsible for acute vs chronic pain
Marty
Module 1 Case:
Patient: Marty Holloway: A 28 y/o male with chronic neck pain

 

Module 2: Using the Interview to Guide the Diagnostic Process: Obtaining a History for the Patient with Chronic Pain
A. Patient Centered Interviewing
  1. Step 1: Setting the stage
  2. Step 2: Gathering chief complaint and setting agenda
  3. Step 3: Opening the interview
  4. Step 4: Continuing the patient-centered approach, skills for working with emotions
  5. Step 5: Transition to provider-centered interviewing
B. Interview Communication Skills
C. Early Diagnosis: Differential and Working Diagnoses
  1. Early diagnosis based on categories of pain
Nancy
Module 2 Case:
Patient: Nancy Erickson: A 65 y/o female with osteoarthritis


Getting Started

Using the Pain and Addiction Curriculum program is easy! You can integrate the program directly into your curriculum, or use as supplemental material.

Simply send your students the link to the training program. Feel free to review the program yourself at any time.

Sample email message inviting studentsDear Students,
We will be using an online training program in pain management this term. To use it, go to http://www.larasig.com/painprogram, create an account and log in. Simply proceed through the two modules. One module is on pain assessment and one is on interviewing a patient to obtain a pain history. At the end of each module, you will be given the opportunity to choose from two evaluation options using the same case to simulate a patient interview: answering questions online or actually interviewing a live patient actor via online chat. You will be provided feedback on your performance and the results of your performance will be shared with me. I think this is a great opportunity to [learn new skills/review skills that you have learned]. Please complete this program by [insert date].
Sincerely,
[Insert your name]
How it works
  • Students need to create accounts using their email addresses and then log in to the website.
  • They can take the program or part of the program at any time.
  • Feedback on student performance on the clinical evaluation part of each module is sent to them within a business day.
  • The use of the online SP actor interview is optional. Actors are generally available during regular business hours Monday through Friday.
Information we can supply to you:
  • Student participation report
  • Student quiz results
  • Student clinical evaluation performance results
    (supply us with a list of their user names)

Questions/Feedback on Our Program

We are interested in your feedback on our program! If you have suggestions, or questions, please feel free to contact us at cmefeedback@clinicaltools.com.