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Introducing Simulation-Based Learning for Trainees in Chronic Pain Medicine: Needs Assessment and Suggestions for Training Scenarios

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Abstract

Introduction

Managing patients with chronic pain can be complex and requires specialized clinical knowledge and advanced communication skills. Simulation-based learning has been shown to improve learning outcomes for complex competencies and could be a valuable resource for trainees in chronic pain medicine.

Methods

We assessed the need for a simulation-based course for trainees in chronic pain medicine at McMaster University in Canada. The needs assessment consisted of three steps: (1) literature review to identify preexisting needs assessments, (2) targeted interviews with six healthcare professionals in chronic pain management, and (3) an analysis of 366 routinely collected patient experience surveys.

Results

The systematic review identified a small body of related literature and no previous needs assessment. We identified the following key competencies and skills that trainees in pain medicine need to develop: (1) communicating with distressed patients using skills such as de-escalation, active listening, and motivational interviewing, (2) managing patients in difficult emotional situations such as poorly controlled pain or showing signs of opioid misuse, and (3) recognizing and managing mental health issues related to chronic pain using appropriate instruments.

Discussion

Suggestions for scenarios included the following: (1) consulting a patient with poor pain control and running out of treatment options, (2) managing a patient with suspected inappropriate opioid use, and (3) diagnosing depression in a patient suffering from chronic pain and developing an appropriate treatment plan.

Conclusion

We propose the development of suggested scenarios into simulation-based courses, and test and refine them together with trainees and experts in pain medicine.

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Abbreviations

SBL:

Simulation-based learning

OSCE:

Objective Structured Clinical Examination

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Dr. P. Chan and Dr. H. Shanthanna for their help with initiating this research project; the participants in the interviews; to our colleagues who assessed candidate scenarios; the Patient Experience Measurement and Methodology Working Group for developing the patient experience survey and sharing the data; to Nancy Fenton, Melec Zeadin, Launa Gauthier, and Whitney Ross; and staff at the MacPherson Institute for their continuous support.

Funding

The MacPherson Institute at McMaster University provided the funding for this study through a Leadership in Teaching & Learning Fellowship grant to AS.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MacPherson Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Anne Scheidecker, Amanda Green, Celine S. Ling, Clare Fiala & Oya Pakkal

  2. Department of Anesthesia, Sankt Elisabethenkrankenhaus, Lörrach, Germany

    Anne Scheidecker

  3. Department of Anesthesia, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Anne Scheidecker & Linda Korz

  4. Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Amanda Green

  5. Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Muzammil H. Syed

  6. School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Celine S. Ling

  7. Arts and Science Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Clare Fiala

  8. Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Oya Pakkal

  9. Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Sandra Monteiro & Stefan Schandelmaier

  10. Basel Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Clinical Research, Basel University, Basel, Switzerland

    Stefan Schandelmaier

Authors
  1. Anne Scheidecker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Scheidecker.

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Transparency

The lead author (the manuscript’s guarantor) affirms that the manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned have been explained.

Ethics Committee Approval

The study falls within quality improvement work, and course evaluation, and is therefore exempt from formal ethics approval, as confirmed by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Scheidecker, A., Green, A., Syed, M.H. et al. Introducing Simulation-Based Learning for Trainees in Chronic Pain Medicine: Needs Assessment and Suggestions for Training Scenarios. Med.Sci.Educ. 31, 1463–1469 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01335-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01335-6

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