Development and Implementation of an Online Pain Management Continuing Education Program

Pain Management Nursing (07/11/2022) Scott-Richardson, Maya; Johnson, Guinevere; McGlorthan, Latoya; et al.

Researchers assessed an interdisciplinary, self-guided, online continuing education program on pain management. The online Joint Pain Education Program involved 228 learners, including 58 identifying as registered nurses and 12 identifying as nurse practitioners. The authors invited potential learners through emails from clinic leadership and postings to hospital intranet websites. Learners could choose up to eight modules based on materials developed from a Department of Defense/Veterans Administration initiative. Overall, a range of providers — mainly non-prescribers — registered for modules, while only one module was completed by over half the registrants. Many learners skipped module content, according to timestamps; however, most participants who completed the continuing education evaluation to earn certificates said they considered the material to be high-quality, suitable, and evidence-based. One-third to about one-half of the learners said they would incorporate content into their clinical practice, but few completed the 3-month follow-up survey. The authors say that "future work is needed to: develop modules that are more engaging (e.g., interactive) and applicable to learners; and improve implementation methods to include dissemination and evaluation metrics."

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