End-of-Life Issues: Pain Assessment and Management

Pain assessment and management are especially important for high-quality end-of-life care. To provide quality care to individuals at this stage of their lives, healthcare practitioners must be particularly skilled at assessing pain, understanding misconceptions of pain management, addressing cultural issues in pain management, and providing effective pain therapies.

Purpose/GoalThe outcome of this course is for the learner to describe pain assessment and management for patients of all ages during their end-of-life care, including how to address cultural considerations and pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic management techniques of pain at the end of life.

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

1. Define pain.
2. Describe how pain affects the individual at end-of-life.
3. State common misconceptions and facts about pain.
4. Explain the pathophysiology of pain.
5. Identify the various types of pain.
6. Describe pain behaviors.
7. Explain the influence of culture on expressions of pain and on pain management.
8. Identify the key elements of pain assessment.
9. Describe barriers to effective pain management.
10. Describe key terms and the key elements of pharmacologic pain management
11. Describe key elements of nonpharmacologic pain management.
12. Describe the special considerations involved in treating a patient with a current or past history of substance abuse.
13. Describe the special considerations involved in managing escalating, severe pain.
14. Identify special issues related to end-of-life care and the pediatric patient.

CONTACT HOURS–3.50