Pain Management Certificate

Deepen your pain management expertise with a conference-caliber curriculum delivered in a convenient online format. This robust certificate will take an interprofessional approach to pain management, bringing together perspectives from clinical and integrative health professionals. Designed to be highly interactive, courses will utilize case studies to go beyond foundational concepts and apply advanced strategies that providers can put into practice.

In commemoration of the University’s Bicentennial, we will offer the first course at no cost as an introductory special to this new certificate.

With successful completion of all five courses, you will earn a Certificate in Pain Management from MCPHS.

Fully online program.
Learn and apply interprofessional approaches to pain management to improve healthcare delivery in clinical and integrative settings.
Complex patient case studies illustrate how concepts are applied in practice.
Includes self-paced content and live virtual sessions with pain management experts.
Delivered by MCPHS health professions faculty and community health care leaders practicing pain management.

Who Should Enroll?

This program is designed for healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, acupuncturists, dental hygienists, dentists, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, physicians, physician assistants, psychiatrists, and social workers. Practicing clinicians will benefit the most from this certificate. A fundamental understanding of medicine and/or prior education in clinical sciences is recommended to have the best learning experience. Participants will benefit from the interprofessional model, learning from other disciplines and building a community to share ideas and resources. Upon completion of the Certificate in Pain Management, students will be better prepared to apply their understanding of the interprofessional model in acute pain, cancer pain, chronic non-cancer pain, hospice, and palliative care settings.

Format

The fully online program includes self-paced content and live virtual sessions with pain management experts. The program consists of five courses that may be taken individually. Participants who wish to earn a certificate must complete all five courses. Our live virtual sessions are recorded and made available to our participants who have a schedule conflict or would like to view them again. These courses do not need to be taken sequentially, though it is strongly recommended that participants start with Course 1 to gain the foundational knowledge for the other courses.

Course Descriptions

Course 1: Foundations of Pain: An Interprofessional Lens

This foundational course will cover analgesic pharmacotherapy and nonpharmacologic treatments, across acute, chronic noncancer pain, cancer pain, palliative care, and hospice settings.

Learn more

Course 2: The Role of Opioids in Acute and Chronic Pain

This comprehensive course will focus on harm reduction, patient education, and identifying and assessing opioid misuse. Students will review integrative case studies and emerging research.

Learn More

Course 3: Patient Education and Sociocultural Considerations

This informative course will bring together perspectives from pain management patients, caregivers, and patient advocates, and bring forth cultural, demographic, and ethical considerations through case studies that include special populations.

Course 4: Integrative Health Strategies for Pain: Addressing the Whole Person

This intensive course will take a deep dive into patient stories and case studies to develop a comprehensive understanding of “whole person” health through integrative health and the biopsychosocial model.

Course 5: Organizational Aspects of Pain Management

This course will review models of team-based pain management services, including pain centers and opioid stewardship programs, and will provide best practices for implementation, strategies for improving patient outcomes, and program sustainability.

Paulina

| Pain Management Certificate Student

"This course unpacked the complexities of pain management through a holistic and interprofessional approach. I will take the lessons of this course with me, putting the patient and their needs first, and working with others to conduct a thorough needs assessment."

Carrie