title: An interfaculty pain curriculum: lessons learned from six years experience.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, 160 - 500 University Avenue, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5G 1V7 Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada, M5T 1P8 Leslie Dan, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 3M2 Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, 160 - 500 University Avenue, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5G 1V7 Biomedical Communications, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Room 2356, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 1A8 Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, 124 Edward Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5G 1G6 Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 1A8.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Watt-Watson
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McGillion
authors.forename: Lalitha
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Raman-Wilms
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cockburn
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lax
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stinson
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: Thuan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dao
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pennefather
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schreiber
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Librach
authors.forename: Tricia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kavanagh
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cullen
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mock
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salter
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum / Q000639:trends*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D009864:Ontario; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis*; D059408:Pain Management; D011361:Professional Competence
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