Training medical students to manage a chronic pain patient: both knowledge and communication skills are needed

Abstract

Most studies concerning pain education of undergraduate medical students focus on knowledge, but little is known about the interviewing skills and pain evaluation. At the end of the fifth study year and at the beginning of the sixth year the students were asked to answer an electronical questionnaire to evaluate how the IASP curriculum on pain had been covered during the studies. In addition, the interviewing skills of the fifth year medical students were assessed using an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The students met a standardized patient suffering from postherpetic neuralgia, who was instructed to express depressive and exhausted feelings. A total of 97 students received the questionnaire and 35% responded with identification. All students answering the IASP questionnaire evaluated teaching of postherpetic pain and antidepressant treatment as sufficient. OSCE appeared as a feasible instrument in the assessment of chronic pain education. Eighty-eight percent of the students made the correct diagnosis. However, only 35% asked about sleep disturbances and 16% about depression. When developing a curriculum on pain education, attention should be paid to pedagogic methods about helping the students to implement the learned knowledge in their practice. Formative assessment of both knowledge and skills is essential for the development of a functional pain curriculum.

Pain Education at the University of Washington School of Medicine

“…also served as medical experts to statewide practice advisory committees, and similarly observed the need to stress biopsycho-social approaches and reduce reliance on opioids and interventional procedures in the care of common pain disorders seen in outpatient primary care practices. 11,13,17,18,32 The IASP recommendations were abbreviated since it would take 74 hours to cover all aspects at an advanced level of proficiency, well beyond the scope and depth needed for the medical student. 26 We focused upon new advances in pain medicine in primary care and addressing the increasing complications of opioid monotherapy and overuse throughout the U.S. and our region.…”

Pediatric Pain Management Education in Medical Students: Impact of a Web-Based Module

“…1 More significantly, in another study, only 8.8% of medical students reported they had received education on PPM. 2 In fact, a survey conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges revealed that only 3% of medical colleges require a course on pain management. 3 Pediatric residency training does not appear to close this educational gap.…”

Effective teaching modifies medical student attitudes toward pain symptoms

“…Surprisingly, most studies evaluated changes in attitude only by means of questionnaires. This may seem an insufficient method, but was proven-and accepted-to be a valid test [2,3,6,8,11,29].…”

“…How can attitudes be influenced during medical education [1-3, 6, 8, 9]? So far, several aspects have been examined, such as curriculum changes [2,3,5,6], specialized teaching models [5,6,10,11], academic role models [11,12] and students' personal study activities [1,8].…”