ASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF EVIDENCE BASED PAIN COMPETENCIES IN PRELICENSURE PHYSICAL THERAPY CURRICULUM

Burke-Doe A.¹, Edwards A.¹, Ingstad C.¹, Ivey C.¹, Laslovich S.¹, Lowe E.¹, Smith K.¹, Warren J.¹, Johnson K.¹, Mathews J.¹, Roberts T.¹, McNulty S.¹

¹University of St. Augustine, San Marcos, United States

Background: Pain is the number one reason patients seek support from all health professions. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and pain experts have provided coordinated guidelines and a framework for both physical therapy and interprofessional pain education but exactly how these competencies should be implemented was not delineated.

Purpose: To implement interprofessional core competencies in pain assessment and management for prelicensure physical therapy students as developed by the IASP and an interprofessional executive committee of pain experts. Competencies developed represent a minimum standard that accreditors, faculty and curriculum developers across physical therapy programs have been charged to incorporate into the formative stages of professional education.

Methods: A team of physical and occupational therapy faculty completed a 2 step process to evaluate current pain content and test pain knowledge and attitudes to determine if their curriculum covered critical content related to pain. First, the faculty evaluated the curriculum by mapping it to the IASP core competencies to identify gaps. Second, students were evaluated on pain knowledge and attitudes using the City of Boston´s Rehabilitation Professional´s Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (COBS). Statistical procedures were used to assess results.

Results: Mapping the curricula for consistency by faculty elucidated key gaps in competencies taught including knowledge of central versus peripheral pain, the multidimensional nature of pain and medications appropriate for various types of pain. Two hundred and seven physical therapy students completed the COBS survey (85.1% response rate). Forty-four percent of physical therapy student’s felt that half of their patients would over-report pain and 40% recognized that non-drug interventions were effective for both moderate and more severe pain. Only half of those surveyed realize that children under 2 years’ experience pain. Findings from the surveys revealed that >60% of students believed that patient use of opioids would result in addiction. Additionally, we compared findings of first term students to those of final term and found limited differences between the groups’ knowledge and attitudes.

Conclusion(s): Our findings indicate that existing curricula should be augmented with specific learning activities that incorporate pain competencies to improve students’ comprehensive knowledge. To maximize the impact of prelicensure pain assessment and management education, core pain competencies should be woven throughout the curricula in didactic and case based learning opportunities.

Implications: Physical therapists as primary care practitioners understand pain is a common human experience that frequently requires physical therapy intervention. Prelicensure physical therapy curricula needs to support the comprehensive understanding and application of interventions that influence pain and its impact on society.

Funding acknowledgements: None

Topic: Education: methods of teaching & learning

Ethics approval: IRB Approval UR 1201-020 through University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences

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