Introduction to Clinical Pain Problems
Spring 2007
Sickle Cell pain patient and artist. (Artwork used with permission from Hertz Nazaire, 2007.)
Highlights of this Course
Research of the mechanisms, nature, and treatment of pain has advanced enourmously in the past decade. Introduction to Clinical Pain Problems is part of the Tufts University School of Medicine Master of Science in Pain Research, Education and Policy program. The program, founded in 1999 by an anesthesiology/internist and a sociologist, meets the needs of practicing health care professionals to provide optimal pain management by offering a unique, interdisciplinary program that sets the standard for pain education. Faculty members possess national and international reputations in pain management and represent a diverse array of disciplines.
Course Description
This course will introduce the general principles of biomedical evaluation and management of common clinical pain problems. It will present ways to evaluate the biomedical characteristics of the pain experience - temporal pattern, severity, location, quality, intensity and exacerbating and relieving factors. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed upon viewing superficially diverse pain syndromes as part of a fundamentally unified group of processes.
Popular Content
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Syllabus
Objectives
* Students will learn to recognize the mechanisms of pain present in common clinical pain syndromes.
* Students will understand the rationale for current-day assessment and treatment of these problems by multiple healthcare disciplines.
* Students will evaluate the impact of concurrent medical disease upon pain symptoms.
Required Text
Cepeda MS, Cousins MJ, Carr DB. Fast Facts: Chronic Pain. Oxford: Health Press; 2007.
Evaluation
Questions on the material covered in this course will be presented in three multiple-choice examinations given periodically throughout the course. All examinations will be proctored. The first exam counts for 25% of the total course grade. The second exam counts for 25% of the total course grade. The last exam counts for 40% of the total course grade. Participation and attendance will count for the remaining 10% of the total course grade.
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1 |
Lecture |
Session 1: Course Overview and Introduction to Pain Taxonomy and Pain Evaluation |
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2 |
Lecture |
Session 2: Evidence-Based Pain Therapy |
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3 |
Lecture |
Session 3: Acute Postoperative Pain: Context, Outcomes, and Clinical Interventions |
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4 |
Lecture |
Session 4: Pharmacotherapy: Opioids, NSAIDS, Adjuvants, and Analgesic Equivalence |
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5 |
Examination |
Session 5: Exam 1 |
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6 |
Lecture |
Session 6: Neuropathic Pain |
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7 |
Lecture |
Session 7: Headache and Craniofacial Pain Disorders |
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8 |
Lecture |
Session 8: Cancer Pain |
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9 |
Lecture |
Session 9: Hospice/Palliative Care Issues: Symptom Assessment and Management |
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10 |
Examination |
Session 10: Exam 2 |
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11 |
Lecture |
Session 11: Back Pain |
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12 |
Lecture |
Session 12: Overview of Chronic Pain: Assessment, Management, and Proper Use of Opioids |
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13 |
Lecture |
Session 13: Pediatric Pain |
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14 |
Examination |
Session 14: Final Exam |
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