The following is the summary of “Development and Implementation of an Online Pain Management Continuing Education Program” published in the December 2022 issue of Pain Management by Richardson, et al.

As has been shown in a number of studies, healthcare professionals in many different fields receive inadequate education in pain management. The objective of the Online Joint Pain Education Program (OJPEP) is to disseminate information on a variety of pain-related issues, such as basic pain science, integrative medicine, and pain management. This research project assesses the viability of the OJPEP, a self-paced, online, interdisciplinary, continuing education program for pain management.

A total of 228 students took part in the research. There were 228 students, 58 of whom identified as future RNs, and 12 future NPs in total. A single-pronged feasibility study in perspective education design. Clinic administration emailed prospective students and made announcements on hospital intranet websites to invite them to take part. Students signed up for the course online and may choose from a total of eight different modules based on content created for a joint initiative between the Department of Defense and the Veterans Affairs Administration. Students rated how they felt about the usefulness and overall quality of the modules they completed. Different types of healthcare professionals from many different fields signed up for the programs. Only one module saw more than half of its enrolled participants finish the course. 

Time stamps showed that many students still needed to fully complete each Most certificate-seeking participants who completed an evaluation of their continuing education reported that the material presented was of good quality, relevant, and supported by evidence. Learners reported a 35%-50% likelihood of implementing course material into clinical practice. However, only a small percentage of people responded to the 3-month follow-up survey. Even though students found the modules satisfactory, more work must be done to create modules that are more interesting (e.g., interactive) and relevant to students; and enhance implementation strategies by including dissemination and assessment measures.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1524904222001230