ELNEC Graduate Student Module 3: Pain Management in Palliative Care

Welcome to the Pain Management Module in the ELNEC Graduate Student Curriculum. This module builds on the concepts presented in Module 1, Introduction to Palliative Care Nursing and will outline the general strategies related to pain assessment and management, with attention to the role of nurses with graduate preparation. Advanced practice nurses and the comprehensive assessments they perform are key as they work with patients, family, and the interprofessional team to develop a plan to treat and manage pain. Pain must be understood as a biopsychosocial/spiritual experience and should therefore be treated using a multidimensional approach (e.g. pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies and additional consults with pain and addiction specialists, radiation oncologists, mental health professionals, rehabilitation therapists, complimentary medicine experts, spiritual guides, chaplains, etc.). Special attention will be devoted to issues related to prescribing and risk mitigation, particularly important given the current climate of an opioid epidemic and the interface of this public health crisis balanced with the challenge of inadequately relieved pain. Your advanced practice nursing role is very important, as you contribute your expertise in assessing the multiple dimensions of pain, advocating for good pain management, safely prescribing an effective analgesic regimen, while always providing compassionate care to patients, in an effort to prevent suffering.