Guest Article: National Pain Management Education Strategy for Australian Health Practitioners

A Multidisciplinary Pain Management Education Strategy for all Australian Health Practitioners (the Strategy) is being developed by a group of health education specialists led by the Faculty of Pain Medicine, Australian and New Zealand College of Anesthetists (FPM).  The project is designed to align with goal three of the 2019 National Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management that was launched by Federal Minister of Health, the Hon. Greg Hunt in June 2019.  It is funded by the federal Department of Health through the Public Health and Chronic Disease Program.

Best practice in pain medicine is inclusive of delivery of care through multi – and interdisciplinary teams based on the sociopsychobiomedical approach.  This is the fundamental principle on which the Strategy will be built.  However, at the present time, pain management education varies greatly across the various health disciplines throughout Australia at all stages from undergraduate to specialty training through to continuing professional development programs.   Contemporary pain management education therefore needs to permeate the broad scope and breadth of health education from tertiary health sciences to post-qualification health practitioners.  It needs to include opportunities for interdisciplinary engagement with less emphasis on discipline-specific programs and use emerging technologies for innovative Australia-wide delivery.

The Strategy development process will take place over multiple stages and will be delivered by the end of 2021.  The FPM will work closely with its key partners, Painaustralia and the Australian Pain Society, along with multiple other stakeholders across the spectrum of experience and disciplines drawn from the wider pain medicine and education communities.  It will specifically target those working in rural, remote and indigenous communities with a focus on those at the forefront of care especially primary care and emergency departments. 

Most importantly, it will be informed by a strong consumer voice at each stage of the project to ensure the pain care needs of people living with pain are addressed.