PA Medical News about pain; clinicians; moral education

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What Does Pain Hurt?
Pain: Clinical Updates (IASP’s clinical newsletter), 07/21/09

Carr DB – Concern for pain relief reflects human instincts for fairness and empathy in the face of suffering. Pain research, education, and care are therefore intertwined with attitudes and ethics to a degree nearly unique among biomedical fields. Given pain’s moral dimension, pain–related educational tools that merely convey factual information often fall flat. Such resources— culminating in quantitative distillations of clinical evidence—typically fail to engage health care providers. We are now just beginning to understand the mechanisms through which social and cultura influences shape unconscious perceptions and attitudes toward people in pain. Interactions based upon shared narrative, dialogue, tutoring, and admiration have great persuasive power.

Exclusive Author Commentary
Daniel B. Carr, 07/21/09

i hope that my colleagues in the health professions enjoy this essay. For those who become inspired by its message to heart and are interested in atending specialized courses about a variety of pain-related topics in a face-to-face educational experience, Tufts offers both a certificate and a Masters Degree in Pain Research, Education and Policy at its Boston Health Science Campus ( http://go.tufts.edu/prep ).