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Palliative Care: Pain Management for your Patients

Develop tools for assessing, managing, and treating pain to help ease distress for palliative care patients, with this online course from the University of Colorado.

Duration

5 weeks

Weekly study

3 hours

100% online

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Understand pain management with the University of Colorado

Palliative care provides important support for people living with serious or life-limiting illnesses and their family caregivers.

On this five-week course, you’ll develop tools for assessing and managing pain in seriously ill people. One of a series on palliative care from the University of Colorado, the course will give you the knowledge and skills you need to ease distress for people in your care.

Understand the types, causes, and symptoms of pain

Before you can begin developing tools for supporting patients, you need to be able to define their symptoms. The course will start with an introduction to pain and pain assessment.

You’ll learn to identify types of pain and recognise their causative factors. You’ll also examine some of the most common and distressing symptoms, such as loss of appetite, fatigue, delirium, and nausea.

Investigate treatments and therapy for pain

The next phase of the course focuses on the management of these common symptoms of pain. You’ll discover the medication available for treating symptoms, as well as non-medical approaches and therapies.

You’ll be able to use these approaches to help patients and caregivers manage their emotional response to pain and distress.

At the end of the five weeks, you’ll have a toolbox of practical insights, skills, and strategies to draw on when caring for the seriously ill.

Week 1
Pain
- Introduction to Pain
  Welcome you to the second course in Palliative Care! Pain is a common symptom and one that can dramatically affect a person's quality of life and well-being.
- What is Pain?
  In this activity, we define pain, explore the nature of pain, and understand when pain occurs.
- Pain Transmission
  In this activity, we will discuss the cascade of events that lead to pain perception.
- Pain Barriers
  This activity reviews barriers that can affect good pain control. Pain can change overall quality of life for patients and family caregivers by causing emotional distress, anxiety or depression, disturbing sleep and appetite.
- Pain Assessment Basics
  In this activity, we will discuss pain screening and assessment techniques. The readings will reinforce what we are learning today and the optional materials will give you an opportunity to dive deeper.
- Other Things to Know About Pain
  We will review other things you need to know about the pain experience. Pain is not just a physical experience, it's a very personal one. Take time to find out what the pain means to the person and how it affects quality of life.
- Assessing Pain in the Nonverbal or Cognitively Impaired
  This activity focuses on how to know if a person who is unable to speak or has speaking related impairment is having pain and what to do about it.
- Pain Assessment
  Review Learning Objectives
Week 2
Non-Pharmacological Pain Treatment
- Many Dimensions of Pain
  Pain involves many dimensions that can affect the way it is expressed in how it responds to treatment. It is expressed in many ways, both within the person and as the person relates to others.
- Integrative Therapy
  Integrative Therapies are healing practices that focus on the relationship between the provider and whole-person, including the mind, body and spirit, to improve health and healing.
- Traditional Body-based Therapies
  We'll take a look at various traditional, physical body-based therapies to lessen pain such as physical therapy.
- Nontraditional Body-based Therapies
  We'll take a look at various nontraditional physical and body-based therapies to lessen pane such as aroma therapy, acupuncture, and yoga.
- Mind Body Therapies
  We'll review some of the more common mind-body therapies used alone or with medications to improve pain relief.
- Topical Therapies
  Topical therapies are widely used prescription or over-the-counter remedies applied to the skin for various conditions including pain.
- Non-Pharmacological Pain Treatment Assessment
  Review learning objectives
Week 3
Medication Management (including over the counter and non-opioid medicines)
- Easing Pain with Non-Opioids
  In this activity, we will learn about medications that can help pain, but are not opioids.
- What Non-Opioids to Use and When?
  We will learn about which opioids are often needed to treat more severe pain.
- Common Side Effects
  In this video, we'll review some common side effects to watch out for when using pain medications.
- Medication Management Assessment
  Review learning objectives
Week 4
Opioids, Safety, and Addiction
- Easing Pain with Opioids
  In this activity, we will learn more about opioid medicines.
- Opioids in Pill and IV Form
  This activity will help you understand some of the main ideas about how to use opioids in a safe and helpful way.
- Changing From One Opioids to Another
  After this activity, you should have some understanding of which opioids are strongest and how to safely convert a pill dose to an IV dose.
- Addiction, Pseudo-Addiction, Physical Dependence, and Tolerance
  When helping people with opioid pain medications, it is important that you understand the difference between addiction, pseudo-addiction, physical dependence and tolerance.
- Opioid Safety and Addiction Assessment
  Review Learning Objectives
Week 5
Easing Pain: Assessment
- Easing Pain Assessment
  Review Learning Objectives