What You’ll Learn

Learn to develop a pain treatment plan with realistic goals and proper documentation, and implement universal precautions to help with the risk of opioid use disorder.

Learning outcomes for this course include:

  1. Develop an ongoing treatment plan for patients with serious illness.
  2. Educate the patient and set realistic goals and expectations for the treatment of chronic pain with opioids.
  3. Describe how pain management evolves in trials of medications and non-pharmacologic therapies to achieve the most efficacious pain management.
  4. Discuss the significance of regular patient follow-ups to assess efficacy of the treatment in terms of functional outcomes and adherence.
  5. Explain the significance of documentation of effectiveness of opioid type dosing.
  6. State the importance of universal precautions in the treatment of pain in patients with serious illness to reduce the risk of opioid use disorder.

What You’ll Earn

Only CAPC members who are logged in can earn the following free Continuing Education Credits:

  • 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
  • Case Management: 1.50 CE
  • Nursing: 1.75 CNE, 1.00 Pharmacotherapy
  • Social Work: 1.50 CE (NYSED)

To take this course, log in. Or, check here to see if your organization is a member.

Login
1

Take the course

2

Take the post-test

3

Complete evaluation

4

Download your certificate

Tools & Resources

Pain Management Glossary
MEMBERS ONLY locked

Key terms related to pain and pain management. Center to Advance Palliative Care, 2025.

Pain Course 6 References

Course citations. Center to Advance Palliative Care, 2025.

Tracking Universal Precautions for Opioid Prescribing Template
MEMBERS ONLY locked

A template that could be incorporated into the EHR.

Treating Constipation at Home

Sample protocol for managing constipation. Organizations can create similar protocols in collaboration with referring clinicians and pharmacists.

Sample Treatment Agreement/Informed Consent Form
MEMBERS ONLY locked

Documentation of patient and clinician goals and expectations for safe and effective opioid treatment.

Physicians

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Accreditation Requirements and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of MSSNY and Center to Advance Palliative Care. MSSNY is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Medical Society of the State of New York designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.50 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

As an ACCME-accredited provider, MSSNY is required to identify and mitigate relevant financial relationships of all individuals in control of CME content.

Financial relationships are relevant if the following three conditions are met for the prospective person who will control content of the education:

✓ A financial relationship, in any amount, exists between the person in control of content and an ineligible company.

✓ The financial relationship existed during the past 24 months.

✓ The content of the education is related to the products of an ineligible company with whom the person has a financial relationship.

Kevin Plancher, MD, member of the MSSNY Subcommittee on Educational Programs, has disclosed that he has served as a consultant for Averitas, restor3D, Geislitch, and Pacira.

Harini Sarva, MD, member of the MSSNY Subcommittee on Educational Programs, has disclosed that she has served as a researcher for Biogen, Bukwang, Neuroderm, Sun pharma, and Genentech and as a researcher and consultant for Novo Nordisk.

None of the other individuals in control of content have relevant financial relationships to disclose.

All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.

Released: 7/14/2025; Valid for credit through 4/16/2028

Estimated Time of Completion: 90 Minutes

Physician Assistants

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME. Medical Society of the State of New York designates this enduring material with 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ as specified, which can be applied to the continuing education of Physician Assistants. Physician Assistants should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nurses

This nursing continuing professional development activity was approved by Connecticut Nurses’ Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Minutes: 105 minutes or 1.75 contact hours

Released: 7/14/2025; Valid for credit through 7/14/2027

This course meets the requirements of the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners to offer 1.0 Category 1 Designated Pharmacotherapeutic Credit Hours as required for maintenance of national certification for nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists. This activity incorporates current clinical application of pharmacology across the life span including drug specific information, safe prescribing practices and information, safe medication administration, prescribing methodologies, new regulations and/or similar content.

Social Workers

Center to Advance Palliative Care SW CPE #0257 is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers effective 7/14/2025 - 7/31/2027. This program has been approved for 1.50 continuing education contact hours.

Certified Case Managers

This program is approved by The Commission for Case Manager Certification (Approval # 250002095) to provide 1.50 continuing education credits to CCM® board certified case managers.

Released: 7/14/2025; Valid for credit through 7/14/2026.

Verification of Attendance (VOA)

All users that are not eligible for continuing education will receive a Verification of Attendance certificate upon completion of the course.

How to Achieve Contact Hours: To successfully earn credit, participants must complete the entire course, receive a minimum score of 80% on the post-test (within 3 attempts), and complete the course evaluation. A printable certificate of completion or a continuing award document specific to the discipline will be awarded. If the participant does not successfully score an 80% or better within 3 attempts, they must re-take the course from beginning to end.

Faculty Disclosures and Financial Relationships: It is the policy of CAPC to ensure objectivity, balance, independence, transparency, and scientific rigor in all CE, CNE and CME educational activities per the highest standards of ANCC and ACGME guidelines. For all courses, Faculty/Presenters/Authors/Content Reviewers/Planning Committee Members complete forms to disclose their relevant financial relationships. No relevant financial relationships were identified for any individuals with the ability to control content of the activity.

Course Media Instructions and Additional Information

Software Requirements: CAPC’s online curriculum, tools and technical assistance are designed to be fully compatible through multiple platforms: computer, smartphone (iOS or Android) or tablet running the following web browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

Content: Each course is comprised of interactive learning components (articles, tools, or supporting materials), video and audio. The learner will be expected to complete various interactive processes such as matching, simulated clinical decision-making, fill in the blanks, and highlighting content.

Target Audience: Each program is developed for chaplains/spiritual counselors, nurses, physicians, physician assistants, social workers, case managers, palliative care program leaders, and healthcare leaders (hospital, health system and community care).

Activity Description/Statement of Needs: CAPC’s online curriculum provides training in two critical areas. Technical assistance courses are designed to help palliative care program leaders address key challenges such as implementing palliative care in community health care settings. Clinical coursework provides fundamental training in pain and symptom management, communication, and other key skills needed to work with patients with serious illness.

Disclaimers: The opinions expressed in the courses are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsor, the educational partner, or the supporter. Please review complete prescribing information of specific drugs or combination of drugs, including indications, contraindications, warnings, and adverse effects before administering pharmacologic therapy to patients.

Activities do not contain information on commercial products/devices that are unlabeled for use or investigational uses of products not yet approved.

Copyright Information: All rights reserved by the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). No materials may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews.

Brynn Bowman, MPA.

Chief Executive Officer, Center to Advance Palliative Care

Assistant Professor, Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Constance Dahlin, MSN, ANP-BC, ACHPN, FPCN, FAAN.

Consultant to CAPC

Nurse Planner, Center to Advance Palliative Care

Keri Sickles, MSN, RN.

PDS Manager: Residency and Fellowship Programs

Rev. Hugh Cooper Administrative Center Healthcare Advanced Learning Lab (HALL)

Kesha Wall Graham, LISW-CP, ACM-SW, AHPSW-C.

Consultant to CAPC

Social Work Content Expert

Dave Carper, MDIV, BCC.

Consultant to CAPC

Counseling Resource Officer, Bluegrass Care Navigators

Brittany Chambers, MPH, MCHES.

Director, Health Equity and Special Initiatives

Sherika Newman, DO.

CAPC Peer Reviewer

Founder, Doctor in the Family, Atlanta, GA

Stacie Sinclair, MPP.

Associate Director, Policy and Care Transformation

Contact information: For answers to frequently asked questions about CAPC courses and CEs, read the Online Course FAQ. For all other questions, please contact support.

New
Course 1: Pain and its Impact on Our Patients

Course 1 of 10

Learn to define and characterize pain, recognize the prevalence of pain, understand disparities in pain management based on race, ethnicity, and gender.

New
Course 2: How to Perform a Comprehensive Pain Assessment

Course 2 of 10

Learn the components of a comprehensive pain assessment and its importance in safe and effective pain management.

New
Course 3: Matching Treatment to Pain Type

Course 3 of 10

Gain an overview of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic pain treatments, including risks and benefits, and learn how to match the analgesic to pain type.

View all courses in the unit

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