• Pain Medicine Short Course

    Pain Medicine Short Course

    Department of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine

About Course

Why do the course

This course is an introductory overview to perioperative and acute-on-chronic pain management relevant for medical, nursing and allied health staff. Through following the journey of a patient with chronic pain who needs acute care and new surgery, participants will develop an appreciation of the burden of chronic pain, the mechanisms behind both acute and chronic pain, how to best assess patients with pain and ways we can modify the patient experience to help minimise the burden of pain in these patients.

 

Objectives

  • Identify mechanisms of acute and chronic pain.
  • Explain the role of biological, psychological, and social factors in the development and perpetuation of pain.
  • Identify mechanisms of action and clinical considerations in using common analgesics.
  • Identify risk factors for persistent post-surgical pain and persistent opioid use after surgery and risk mitigation strategies.
  • Analyse various techniques to assess patients in pain, including diverse population groups.
  • Explain the role of preoperative pain optimisation, using pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques.
  • Identify the physiology and clinical implications of patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
 

Course Dates

  • May Course: 6 May - 14 June 2024
  • September Course: 2 September - 11 October 2024
 

Information

  • Six-week course and six modules (one released each week).
  • Allows for flexibility in work patterns – once a module is released weekly, lectures and reading material can be viewed at own pace and at any time.
  • Online only; no on-campus attendance required.
  • Each module consists of a reading package, journal articles, short videos, podcasts and interactive knowledge check sections or a combination of these.
  • No assessment (nor minimum pass mark).
  • All participants have an additional month to complete the modules.
  • You can download the Certificate of Completion at the end of the course if you have accessed and completed all the course modules and the final course survey.
 

Time Commitment:

4 - 6 hours per week (on average)