Essential Pain Management

Unrelieved pain is a major global healthcare problem and its importance is often unrecognised. Adequate pain management results in fewer medical complications, earlier hospital discharge and improved quality of life.

Essential Pain Management (EPM) is a short, easily deliverable, cost-effective, multi-disciplinary program designed to improve pain management worldwide. It aims to:

• Improve pain knowledge.
• Teach health workers to "recognise, assess and treat pain" (RAT).
• Address pain management barriers.
• Train local health workers to teach EPM.

Essential Pain Management (EPM) was developed by Dr Roger Goucke (Western Australia) and Dr Wayne Morriss (New Zealand) following discussions with colleagues in Papua New Guinea (PNG) about the lack of pain management education in PNG. Program development was supported by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and the first courses were delivered in 2010 in Papua New Guinea. Since then, the course has been delivered more than 60 countries around the world.

The EPM program was initially overseen by an ANZCA committee. In 2018, this was succeeded by a joint ANZCA and World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) EPM Steering Committee following the establishment of a partnership agreement between ANZCA and the WFSA.

EPM is designed for any health worker who comes in contact with patients who have pain. The "recognise, assess and treat pain" (RAT) approach can be applied to pain of all types (acute or chronic, cancer or non-cancer) and can be used by all types of health workers, including doctors, nurses, clinic workers and pharmacists.

For some, the information in the EPM Workshop will be new. For others, the course will provide revision of basic principles, a systematic approach for managing patients in pain and a system for teaching others about pain management.
The Essential Pain Management (EPM) program is available in a range of courses:

• One-day, face-to-face EPM workshop
• Half-day, face-to-face EPM Lite workshop
• Half-day, face-to-face EPM instructor workshop
• Virtual, self-learning EPM online, available through this Praxhub platform
• Short interactive zoom sessions (small group case discussions) to complement the online training

EPM would not be possible without the commitment of its many supporters.

Many thanks to:

Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists | World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists | Australian Society of Anaesthetists | International Association for the Study of Pain | Interplast Australia & New Zealand | ANZCA Research Foundation | Royal Australasian College of Surgeons | Pacific Islands Project | Royal College of Anaesthetists | Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain & Ireland | The Ronald Geoffrey Arnott Foundation