Pain Management Update

Needs statement
Pain is one of the most common symptoms that cause individuals to seek medical attention, with chronic pain affecting 50 million people in the United States annually. A person’s general well-being often is adversely impacted by chronic or persistent pain that is poorly controlled; including cognitive function, sleep quality, and health-related quality of life. Despite the prevalence of chronic pain, the evidence suggests it is undertreated. Inadequate pain-management training, biases in clinician perceptions, and incomplete pain assessment have been recognized as potential barriers to adequate pain management.

Course goals
This course is designed to provide physicians and nursing professionals with information on pain including the physiology and types of pain, factors influencing pain, assessment, treatment modalities, barriers to pain management and patients’ rights related to pain. The goal of this course is to enable physicians and nursing professionals to provide quality care to patients who report the presence of pain.
Target audience
This independent self study activity is designed for physicians and nursing professionals at all levels and settings in the healthcare industry.

Learning objectives
At the completion of this course, the learner should be able to:
-Recognize the presentation of pain;
-List different types and causes of pain;
-Discuss the factors that influence pain perception and intensity;
-Describe the barriers to pain management and ways to overcome them;
-Discuss various treatment modalities;
-List some guidelines for the use of opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and adjuvant medications;
-Describe modes of medication administration;
-Outline the process to effectively assess and evaluate pain;
-State patient’s rights related to pain management.

Method of Participation
In order to receive credit, participants should read the entire monograph, complete and submit an evaluation and score at least 70% on the self-assessment test. AKH Inc. allows for one (1) re-test at no additional charge; additional re-tests must be purchased again at the full cost. Statements of Credit will be available upon successful completion of the self-assessment test. If you have questions about this CME/CE activity, please contact AKH Inc. at service@akhcme.com.

Disclosure Declaration
It is the policy of AKH Inc. to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, scientific rigor, and integrity in all of its continuing education activities. The faculty must disclose to the participants any significant relationships with commercial interests whose products or devices may be mentioned in the activity or with the commercial supporter of this continuing education activity. Identified conflict of interest is resolved by AKH prior to accreditation of the activity. AKH planners and reviewers have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use and Investigational Products
This educational activity does not include discussion of uses of agents that are investigational and/or unapproved by the FDA. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer
AKH Inc.ís activities are designed solely to provide healthcare professionals with information to assist in their practice and professional development. The activities are researched thoroughly, utilizing current literature and including practical experiences. AKHís activities are not to be considered a diagnostic tool to replace professional advice or treatment. The activities serve as a general guide to the healthcare professional, and therefore, they cannot be considered as giving legal, nursing, medical, or other professional advice in specific cases. AKH educational activities do not endorse commercial products. The author(s) and the publisher specifically disclaim responsibility for any adverse consequences resulting directly or indirectly from information in the activities. AKH further disclaims any responsibility for undetected errors, or from the readerís misunderstanding of the activity.

Copyright © 2014 AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.