Non-Opioid Chronic Pain Management
What You’ll Learn
After completing this course, learners should be able to explain the biological basis of chronic pain, build patient trust through effective communication, and describe non-pharmacologic and non-opioid treatments for managing chronic pain in patients with serious illness.
Learning outcomes for this course include:
- Explain the biological basis of chronic pain
- Discuss the benefits of motivational interviewing in creating a trusting patient clinician relationship
- Describe 2 potential non-pharmacologic and non-opioid treatments for managing chronic pain
- Describe 2 non-opioid treatments for managing chronic pain
What You’ll Earn
Only CAPC members who are logged in can earn the following free Continuing Education Credits:
- 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
- Case Management: 1.00 CE
- Nursing: 1.00 CNE
- Social Work: 1.00 CE (NASW)
- Social Work: 1.00 CE (NYSED)
To take this course, log in. Or, check here to see if your organization is a member.
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Tools & Resources
Key Takeaways for Course 1 of the Chronic Pain Strategies for Patients with Serious Illness Unit.
Course citations and additional resources.
Training and clinical tools for managing pain in patients living with serious illness, with a focus on safe opioid prescribing and risk assessment for substance use disorder.
Recommended assessment questions to typify pain and inform pain management for patients with serious illness.
Brief (4-question) screening tool for anxiety and depression.
When to use - and when to avoid - 6 classes of analgesics including acetaminophen, NSAIDs, opioids, antiepileptics, antidepressants, and corticosteroids.
A 13-item scale to assess patients' catastrophic thinking related to their pain.
Course Faculty
William C. Becker, MD. Associate Professor, Yale School of Medicine.
Keysha Brooks-Coley, MA. Vice President, Federal Advocacy and Strategic Alliances with the American Cancer Society Action Network (ACS CAN).
Julie Wilson Childers, MD, MS. Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Katie Fitzgerald Jones, MSN, APN. Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, VA Boston; PhD candidate Connell School of Nursing Boston College.
Jaime Goldberg, MSW, LCSW, ACHP-SW. Clinical social worker.
Lauran Hardin, MSN, RN-BC, CN. Senior Director of Cross Continuum Transformation at the Camden Coalition and the National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs.
David Hui, MD, MSc. Associate Professor, Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD, MA, MDE, BCPS, CPE. Professor and Executive Director, Advanced Post-Graduate Education in Palliative Care, Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland.
Judith Paice, PhD, RN, FAAN. Director, Center Pain Program, Division of Hematology-Oncology, and Research Professor of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University.
Drew Rosielle, MD, FAAHPM. Palliative Care, Fairview Health Services, University of Minnesota Medical School.
Melissa Weimer, DO, MCR. Chief of Behavioral Health and Addiction Medicine for St. Peter's Health Partners Acute Care Albany Division.
Peer Reviewers
Karl Bezak, MD. Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Palliative Care and Medical Ethics, University of Pittsburgh (UPMC).*
Spencer Christiansen, MD. Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellow at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Dara Duncan, RN. Hospice and Palliative Care Registered Nurse, Wiener Family Palliative Care Unit
Mount Sinai Hospital.
Maria Gatto, MA, APRN, ACHPN, APHN-BC.
Gabrielle Langmann, MD. Clinical Instructor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Master’s of Science in Medical Education Candidate, University of Pittsburgh.*
*indicates ABIM Peer Reviewer
Contact information: For answers to frequently asked questions about CAPC courses, read the Online Course FAQ. For technical questions about course activity, email [email protected]. For questions about continuing education credits, contact 201-957-0077.

Provided by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.