Standard 2: Best practice education

Health practitioners who work with people experiencing pain must have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to appropriately and effectively address a person’s pain management needs. To achieve this goal, the content of pain management education and training must reflect the needs of both health practitioners as learners and the diverse range of individuals who experience pain. 

Education and training must be developed and delivered using educational approaches that promote acquisition of knowledge and skills appropriate to delivery of pain management for the entire Australian population. 

“Vital that education about pain is delivered in a way that is meaningful to the learner and based on relevant learning theories and established practices.” – Stakeholder consultation workshop participant.

“Knowledge around appropriate pain management has changed dramatically in the last two decades. Taking this into account, conventional or reductionist approaches to teaching pain may inadvertently contribute to an incomplete understanding of pain in healthcare professions. It is therefore necessary to improve contemporary pain teaching and prioritise fit-for-purpose pain education for all healthcare practitioners.”³⁷ 

^{Note: All references supporting this information can be found in the full Australian Standards for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education document.}

Given its high prevalence in Australia,³⁸ most health practitioners will work with individuals experiencing acute and/or chronic pain. Pain management education for all health practitioners, regardless of their discipline or career stage, must be undertaken effectively, efficiently and appropriately. However, evidence suggests that pain management education is less than optimal. 

Many health practitioners have limited understanding of the experiences of individuals with pain, and often lack the requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes to safely and effectively work with individuals experiencing pain.^38,39 The learning and teaching standard highlights the aspects that are important in designing, developing, delivering and evaluating high quality pain management education. 

^{Note: All references supporting this information can be found in the full Australian Standards for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education document.}

The principles of person-centred, collaborative and evidence-based pain management are recognised as best practice.^40-44 These key tenets must be emphasised in the content of health practitioner education on pain management. However, they also have implications for the design, development, delivery and evaluation of that education.⁴¹ 

The diversity of people experiencing pain is mirrored in the demographic diversity of both health and medical student learners and qualified health practitioners working with individuals experiencing pain. The myriad of different geographic, social and clinical contexts in which pain management occurs adds yet another variable. 

Therefore, every effort should be made to avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach to the development and delivery of pain management education. Despite this, health practitioner education often includes limited or superficial content on the experience and management of pain and continues to rely on traditional didactic approaches.^38,45  

^{Note: All references supporting this information can be found in the full Australian Standards for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education document.}

Contemporary learning and teaching approaches require educators to place the learner at the centre of education and training initiatives.³⁸ Adult learning principles, in conjunction with active and experiential learning strategies, are essential to convey the requisite emphasis on both “knowing” at the cognitive level and “doing” at the capability/competency level.^36,40,43,46 As outlined in the learning and teaching standard, this includes opportunities to practise the application of theory in a range of real-world situations and settings.  

Identifying clear learning needs and objectives is consistent with robust and contemporary learning and teaching approaches. By identifying the needs of both health practitioner learners and individuals experiencing pain, elements of the curriculum such as content, learning experiences, teaching strategies and assessment can be aligned to those needs.³⁸ This ensures that pain management education addresses the real needs of the Australian community. Current and emerging technologies are becoming increasingly important as teaching and learning tools, and their considered use can be beneficial. For example, technology enables increased accessibility, facilitates individualised learning, and reduces costs associated with the teaching process.⁴⁷ 

By defining gold standard education delivery that supports learning and promotes outcomes, the learning and teaching standard seeks to ensure that health practitioners are well-equipped to provide high quality care for Australians experiencing pain.

^{Note: All references supporting this information can be found in the full Australian Standards for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education document.}