Certificate in Pain Assessment and Management

Pain assessment and management is a crucial part of compassionate and effective patient care. Healthcare providers must be more accurate with their pain assessment skills and more effective in their pain management strategies. Scientific advancements in the understanding of the mechanisms of pain, multidisciplinary methods of assessment and management, the wide array of integrative treatment strategies, and the improvement of medications to treat pain have contributed to the wealth of knowledge in this area.

Courses Included

Purpose/GoalThe outcome of this certificate program is for the learner to describe key elements related to pain assessment and management, especially in specific populations.

Certificate Objectives – Upon completion you will be able to do the following:

1. Describe various pain theories and assessment principles.
2. Compare and contrast specific pain interventions and treatments.
3. Explain the differences between acute and chronic pain.
4. Discuss specific pain management issues in surgical, cancer, and HIV patients.
5. Discuss specific pain management issues in children and the elderly.
6. Describe the unique pain assessment and management issues at the end of life.
7. Describe integrative therapies for cancer pain assessment and management.