A Cross-Sectional Survey Unveiling the Imperatives for Continuing Education and Discipline Development in Pain Medicine

Frontiers in Medicine (03/17/25) Jiang, Ren; Li, Hong; Peng, Zhiyou; et al.

The results of a cross-sectional survey highlight the importance for a stronger and standardized framework for continuing education in pain medicine. The survey, which was distributed to the directors of the pain medicine departments of more than 400 hospitals in one Chinese province, sought to identify any requirements and challenges for continuing education in the pain medicine arena. A survey was also sent to more than 160 physicians who had received advanced training in pain medicine to assess any existing issues and needs for advanced training they might identify. According to the data, secondary hospitals were less likely to have pain clinics than tertiary hospitals (51.3% vs. 69.9%), and there are not enough pain physicians. More than 81% of the directors indicated a strong willingness to boost their professional skills, and the number of advanced trainees has risen substantially. Inpatient teaching accounted for approximately 75% of their advanced training, the physicians reported. Instructors and advanced trainees overwhelmingly preferred case-based learning. Additionally, nearly 50% of physicians said they had no outpatient exposure, underscoring a need for more clinical practice opportunities.

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