Pain Medicine Elective

Catalog description:  Pain is a common ailment that physicians across a range of specialties manage. Therefore, accurately diagnosing and effectively managing pain is an important skillset to acquire. Medical students will gain a greater depth of understanding of the complex mechanisms that contribute to pain and appreciate the multidisciplinary approach to pain medicine. Medical students will spend their two weeks in both the outpatient and inpatient settings. In the chronic pain clinic they will evaluate patients with faculty, fellows, and residents, and observe and participate in interventional pain procedures. In the inpatient setting, they will observe and participate in regional anesthesia procedures prior to surgical procedures, evaluate hospitalized patients with chronic pain or complex pain management concerns and round on patients on the inpatient pain management service.

Syllabus

Sites: 

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Required session attendance:  Anesthesiology grand rounds Tuesdays from 6:30-7:30AM; Pain/regional anesthesia-related lectures for residents that typically take place between 3-5PM during the work week; Pain journal club

Typical weekly schedule/Delivery mode:  Clinic: 8AM-5PM; Procedures 6AM-3PM

Direct patient care:  Yes

Consent requirement:  Open to student scheduling

Course objectives:  

1. Obtain a history and perform a physical exam
that emphasizes identifying the etiology of pain conditions including chronic
pain syndromes.
2. Describe the pathways that contribute to acute
and chronic pain.
3. Compare and contrast strengths and weakness of different pain medication classes, and develop a multimodal analgesia plan.
4.  Recognize common procedures used to mitigate common pain conditions.
5. Identify roles of the multidisciplinary pain care team.

Graded components: Clinical asessment by pain management faculty with input from pain medicine fellows and anesthesiology residents

Grading scale: P/N

Allow repetition of course: Repetition not allowed

Course equivalency:  Does Not Apply