Pain education, especially for undergraduates, has been identified as important to changing problematic pain practices, yet, no published data were found describing an integrated, interprofessional pain curriculum for undergraduate students. Therefore, this project aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate an integrated pain curriculum, based on the International Association for the Study of Pain curricula [http://www.iasp-pain.org/curropen.html], for 540 students from six Health Science Faculties/Departments. Over an 18-month period, the University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain's Interfaculty Pain Education Committee developed a 20-h undergraduate pain curriculum to be delivered during a 1-week period. Students from Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy participated as part of their 2nd or 3rd year program. Teaching strategies included large and small groups, Standardized Patients, and 63 facilitators. Evaluation methods included: (a) pre- and post-tests of the Pain Knowledge and Beliefs Questionnaire (PKBQ) and (b) Daily Content and Process Questionnaire (DCPQ) to obtain feedback about process, content, and format across the curriculum's 5 days. A significant improvement in pain knowledge and beliefs was demonstrated (t = 181.28, P < 0.001), although non-responders were problematic at the post-test. DCPQ overall ratings of 'exceeding or meeting expectations' ranged from 74 to 92%. Ratings were highest for the patient-related content and panel, and the small-group discussions with Standardized Patients. Overall evaluations were positive, and statistically significant changes were demonstrated in students' pain knowledge and beliefs. This unique and valuable learning opportunity will be repeated with some modifications next year.
Minimal pain content has been documented in pre-licensure curricula and students lack important pain knowledge at graduation. To address this problem, we have implemented and evaluated a mandatory Interfaculty Pain Curriculum (IPC) yearly since 2002 for students (N=817 in 2007) from six Health Science Faculties/Departments. The 20-h pain curriculum continues to involve students from Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy as part of their 2nd or 3rd year program. Evaluation methods based on Kirkpatrick's model now include evaluation of a Comprehensive Pain Management Plan along with the previously used Pain Knowledge and Beliefs Questionnaire (PKPQ) and Daily Content and Process Questionnaires (DCPQ). Important lessons have been learned and subsequent changes made in this iterative curriculum design based on extensive evaluation over the 6-year period. Modifications have included case development more relevant to the diverse student groups, learning contexts that are uni-, inter-, and multi-professional, and facilitator development in working with interprofessional student groups. PKBQ scores have improved in all years with a statistically significant average change on correct responses from 14% to 17%. The DCPQ responses have also indicated consistently that most students (85-95%) rated highly the patient panel, expert-lead clinically focused sessions, and small interprofessional groups. Relevancy and organization of the information presented have been generally rated highly from 80.3% to 91.2%. This curriculum continues to be a unique and valuable learning opportunity as we utilize lessons learned from extensive evaluation to move the pain agenda forward with pre-licensure health science students.
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