Pain management education ‘inadequate’
Print version
Survey results released this week reveal that a distinct lack of time is being dedicated to educating healthcare students on pain and how best to manage it in their patients. Dr Emma Briggs, a lecturer in the Department of Acute Adult Nursing at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery at King's, was a Principal Investigator on the project and lead author on the report.
Inadequacy of current pain management
This news comes following the Chief Medical Officer’s annual report, published at the beginning of the year, highlighting the inadequacy of current pain management systems and calling for a greater focus on improving the provision of care for those with chronic pain. Education was the first of eight recommendations.
Pain education
The research surveyed 19 universities across the UK to determine the nature and content of pain education in undergraduate programmes for healthcare and veterinary professionals, as well as exploring the extent of inter-professional education and the strategies used to promote learning in pain.
Dr Emma Briggs, Principal Investigator
Dr Emma Briggs, a lecturer in the Department of Acute Adult Nursing at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery at King's, was a Principal Investigator on the project and lead author on the report. The work was carried out as part of her role as committee member of the British Pain Society Education Special Interest Group.
She comments, ‘The survey revealed that education on identification, assessment and treatment of pain represents less than one per cent of the university-based teaching for healthcare professionals. The Chief Nursing Officers and Chief Medical Officers of all four UK countries support the recommendations and have called for competency in pain assessment and management to be a universal requirement for registration for all professions. I am pleased to say that the British Pain Society Education Special Interest Group will be working with the regulators of healthcare professionals to improve undergraduate education.’
She comments, ‘The survey revealed that education on identification, assessment and treatment of pain represents less than one per cent of the university-based teaching for healthcare professionals. The Chief Nursing Officers and Chief Medical Officers of all four UK countries support the recommendations and have called for competency in pain assessment and management to be a universal requirement for registration for all professions. I am pleased to say that the British Pain Society Education Special Interest Group will be working with the regulators of healthcare professionals to improve undergraduate education.’
Key pain education issues
Dr Beverly Collett, Treasurer of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and Chair of the Chronic Pain Policy Coalition added,
'This survey focuses much-needed attention on the key issue of the level of pain education that our future doctors and nurses receive. With 7.8 million people living with chronic pain in the UK, it is vital that health professionals are adequately supported in gaining a comprehensive understanding of pain management. We need to ensure all our health professionals receive both the right amount and right type of pain education, and getting early professional education right is one of the crucial steps towards improving pain management services.'
Results highlight that, on average, medical students only receive 13 hours of pain education during their five-year course, with nurses receiving 10 hours, dentists nine and a half hours, pharmacists eight hours and midwives just six hours. Students studying physiotherapy were offered by far the most time on pain management, with an average of 37.5 hours allocated in the curriculum.
'This survey focuses much-needed attention on the key issue of the level of pain education that our future doctors and nurses receive. With 7.8 million people living with chronic pain in the UK, it is vital that health professionals are adequately supported in gaining a comprehensive understanding of pain management. We need to ensure all our health professionals receive both the right amount and right type of pain education, and getting early professional education right is one of the crucial steps towards improving pain management services.'
Results highlight that, on average, medical students only receive 13 hours of pain education during their five-year course, with nurses receiving 10 hours, dentists nine and a half hours, pharmacists eight hours and midwives just six hours. Students studying physiotherapy were offered by far the most time on pain management, with an average of 37.5 hours allocated in the curriculum.
Report launch at School
The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery hosted the launch of the report on Wednesday 21 October. The event was attended by patient group representatives (Patient's Associations, Pain Concern, Pelvic Pain Association), academics and representatives of the Department of Health and regulators of the healthcare professions.
Notes to Editors
The report
The report ‘Survey of undergraduate pain curricula for healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom’ is available from Emma Briggs.
Funding
The research was funded by an educational grant from Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited. The funders played no part in the study design; data collection, analysis, or interpretation; report writing. The views expressed in the printed summary report are those of the authors and not necessarily those of their employers or the funders.
British Pain Society
Established in 2007, the Pain Education Special Interest Group (SIG) is a Society Special Interest Group of the British Pain Society.
As a multi-professional group the objectives of the Pain Education SIG are to:
• Raise awareness of the need for pain education for healthcare professionals at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Enhance the skills of those involved in delivering pain education, including the skills of teaching and assessment.
• Share knowledge and promote the dissemination of different educational methods and technologies available to deliver pain education.
• Contribute to the educational objectives of the British Pain Society (BPS) and the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP).
The report ‘Survey of undergraduate pain curricula for healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom’ is available from Emma Briggs.
Funding
The research was funded by an educational grant from Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited. The funders played no part in the study design; data collection, analysis, or interpretation; report writing. The views expressed in the printed summary report are those of the authors and not necessarily those of their employers or the funders.
British Pain Society
Established in 2007, the Pain Education Special Interest Group (SIG) is a Society Special Interest Group of the British Pain Society.
As a multi-professional group the objectives of the Pain Education SIG are to:
• Raise awareness of the need for pain education for healthcare professionals at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Enhance the skills of those involved in delivering pain education, including the skills of teaching and assessment.
• Share knowledge and promote the dissemination of different educational methods and technologies available to deliver pain education.
• Contribute to the educational objectives of the British Pain Society (BPS) and the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP).
The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery
The number one Nursing & Midwifery School in London (2009 Times Good University Guide) and highly regarded by leading London NHS Trusts with links to industry, health services and policy makers, the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery develops leading-edge nurses and midwives of tomorrow – practitioners, partners, and leaders in their field.
Studying at King’s College London, one of the top 25 universities in the world, the School’s graduates are highly sought after nationally and internationally, with:
• exemplary care and clinical skills
• professional attitudes
• policy awareness
• intellectual rigour and self-confidence
Based in a prestigious Russell Group University, the School is also at the forefront of health services, policy and evaluation research. For more information on studying at the School, email nightingale@kcl.ac.uk.
Studying at King’s College London, one of the top 25 universities in the world, the School’s graduates are highly sought after nationally and internationally, with:
• exemplary care and clinical skills
• professional attitudes
• policy awareness
• intellectual rigour and self-confidence
Based in a prestigious Russell Group University, the School is also at the forefront of health services, policy and evaluation research. For more information on studying at the School, email nightingale@kcl.ac.uk.
King's College London
King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2009) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 21,000 students from nearly 140 countries, and more than 5,700 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.
King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.
King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.
King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.
King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.