Continuing Medical Education (CME) Mission Statement
The AAPM CME program is designed to assess needs, plan, and implement educational activities for physicians who seek to provide quality health care to patients suffering from acute and chronic pain.
Through these activities, AAPM will enhance physicians’ knowledge, competence, and performance in the field of Pain Medicine.
Content Areas Covered By the AAPM CME Program
The content covered by the AAPM CME program reflects the multidisciplinary scope of the field, which includes a broad scope of specialties such as anesthesiology, internal medicine, neurology, neurological surgery, orthopedic surgery, physiatry, psychiatry, and psychology.
Among the topics addressed are the study of pain, prevention of pain, and the evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of persons in pain.
As endorsed by the US National Pain Strategy of 2016, integrative/complementary medicine techniques such as acupuncture, hypnosis, mindfulness-based-stress-reduction, and Tai Chi, to name a few, should be an increasingly routine component of acute and chronic pain treatment plans.
The unique needs of patients-including cultural contexts-are always considered when formulating a comprehensive treatment plan.
Target Audience of the CME Program
The AAPM CME program is designed for a diverse audience of physicians whose diverse scope of practice may include but is not limited to primary care, pediatrics, geriatrics, oncology, and others and is targeted to the multidisciplinary practice of Pain Medicine.
The CME Program is further designed for a secondary audience of physicians interested in improving their knowledge, competence, and performance in the treatment of common pain disorders. AAPM also provides educational programs directed toward the non-physician healthcare clinician who is part of the multidisciplinary pain management team.
Educational Activities and Resources Provided By AAPM
Expected Results of the AAPM CME Program
Increasing Knowledge
- Understand the fundamental concepts and complexity of pain, including the multidimensional nature of pain, how it is observed, assessed and reassessed after treatment, multidisciplinary approaches to treatment, and applicable tools for mitigating risks, assessing and managing the medico-legal aspects of pain medicine.
- Identify major healthcare trends, and discuss their impact on the specialty practice of Pain Medicine.
Improving Competence
- Develop skills and strategies necessary to optimize the health of patients in pain and to support the elimination of the major public health problem of incomplete assessment, treatment, and reassessment of pain and to decrease the burden of chronic pain as a major public health problem.
- Analyze and overcome barriers to the management of acute, chronic, and cancer pain conditions, including reducing disparities in access to quality pain care across the healthcare continuum, and reducing unintentional consequences (misuse, abuse, and diversion issues) related to the use of opioid analgesics in the treatment of chronic pain.
Enhancing Performance
- Implement optimal clinical assessment and risk management strategies, evidence-based treatment protocols, and a patient-centered approach to improve the treatment of patients of all ages with various pain conditions.
- Apply evidence-based integrative and interventional pain techniques to reduce costs, improve efficacy, and leverage outcome-tracking tools.