pain management graphic

An estimated 100 million American adults suffer from chronic pain with an annual direct and indirect cost of roughly $600 billion. An interdisciplinary approach, one that incorporates the expertise and perspectives of health care providers from different disciplines, is essential to treat and manage pain.

Current research at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, in collaboration with the UC Davis Health Division of Pain Medicine, prompts health leaders to shift their expertise from episodic to system-oriented care. Efforts underway target clinicians across the learning continuum from prelicensure learners to practicing nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants to medical students.

A few initiatives underway include:

  • Education and Practice Collaboration to Relieve Pain and Suffering: project to design and implement an interprofessional educational model that ensures clinicians possess competency in the fundamental aspects of pain management and interprofessional collaborative practice.
  • Interprofessional Pain Management Competency Program: identified pain management core competencies that are relevant for all health professionals at the prelicensure level. These competencies were endorsed by numerous professional organizations and now used as a tool to review a licensing exam for inclusion of pain content.
  • UC Davis ECHO® ― Pain Management: establishes a peer-to-peer video conference mentoring program to increase the specialized pain management knowledge of primary-care providers in underserved areas.