Resident Knowledge and Perception of Pain Management.

Jose Garcia,Angel Sidley,Allison Ferris,Garrett Basich,George Luck,Abraham Garcia,Levonti Ohanisian

doi:10.7759/cureus.6107

Abstract

Chronic pain involves a complex mechanism that afflicts 50 million adults in the United States and incurs societal costs upwards of $560 billion annually. The consequences of this epidemic have resulted in an epidemic of its own, with the opioid crisis becoming a top priority in healthcare. Historically, the sub-optimal practices of overprescribing opioids and inadequate monitoring of iatrogenic addiction have contributed to this problem. If progress is to be made in this area, it is imperative that we examine how future physicians are being trained to manage pain. We examined internal medicine resident knowledge regarding pain as well as their satisfaction with medical school preparation in this regard using two surveys: The Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) and The Medical School Pain Curriculum Survey (MSPCS). Residents scored an overall 60.7% on the knowledge assessment survey, and less than 50% of respondents agreed that their medical school curriculum had prepared them sufficiently. This suggests that improvements can be made in medical school curricula regarding pain management education to better train physicians on how to manage pain, particularly in an era that demands expertise in this area.

Highlights

Chronic pain is defined as pain lasting or recurring for more than three to six months [1]
We examined internal medicine resident knowledge regarding pain as well as their satisfaction with medical school preparation in this regard using two surveys: The Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) and The Medical School Pain Curriculum Survey (MSPCS)
It is vitally important that medical schools assess the efficacy of their pain curricula and amend it to ensure that future physicians are properly equipped to address such a pervasive and complex disease process

Summary

Introduction

Chronic pain is defined as pain lasting or recurring for more than three to six months [1]. It is one of the most common reasons adults seek medical care [2]. In 2015, two million Americans had SUD involving prescription pain medications, with 20,101 accidental overdose deaths related to those medications [5]. In order to reduce the number of deaths, prescription misuse, and associated morbidity and mortality linked to prescription pain medication, many medical schools have prioritized re-evaluating and adapting their pain curriculum to address society’s changing needs [6,7]. Management of pain, including SUD treatment and opioid overdose; and 4. The responding colleges reported the challenges of implementation to be lack of time in the curriculum, lack of faculty expertise, and difficulty of assessment

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