Lesson 1Proven self-report tools: Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS) and when to use eachThis lesson covers main adult self-report scales, including NRS, VAS, and VDS, with advice on when to use them, their limits, cultural and reading level issues, and how to understand scores based on daily activities, aims, and treatment results.
Numeric Rating Scale: use and limitsVisual Analogue Scale: method and problemsVerbal Descriptor Scale and choosing patientsPicking the right scale for each patientUnderstanding scores with daily function resultsLesson 2Tools for chronic pain assessment: PainDETECT, DN4, Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and functional impact measurementThis lesson looks at key tools for long-term pain checking, including PainDETECT, DN4, and the Brief Pain Inventory, focusing on how pain affects daily life, limits in activities, and using scores in ongoing care and treatment planning over time.
Using PainDETECT for nerve pain screeningApplying DN4 in clinic nerve pain checksBrief Pain Inventory scoring and understandingMeasuring function, disability, and involvementTracking long-term pain results over timeLesson 3Behavioral and observational tools for adults: PAINAD, CPOT, and assessing nonverbal cues in postoperative and anxious patientsThis lesson covers using PAINAD, CPOT, and planned watching to check pain in adults who are sleepy from medicine, on breathing tubes, have thinking problems, are worried, or just after surgery, stressing trust, reducing mistakes, and team talking.
PAINAD scoring and understanding in adult patientsUsing CPOT in breathing machine and sleepy ICU patientsSpotting nonverbal pain signs and behaviorsTelling pain from worry or confusion signsReducing watcher mistakes and improving agreement between ratersLesson 4Principles of pain physiology and types of pain (nociceptive, neuropathic, inflammatory, nociplastic)This lesson explores normal pain, nerve pain, swelling pain, and body-adapted pain, connecting body sensors and paths to clinic patterns, exam results, and treatment picks, to better check based on causes and choose aimed treatments.
Body sensor start and over-sensitivitySpine cord passing and changing of painNerve pain causes and clinic signsSwelling causes and body over-sensitivityBrain over-sensitivity and body-adapted pain signsConnecting pain cause to treatment pickLesson 5Assessing pain history and biopsychosocial factors: sleep, mood, catastrophizing, substance use, and social contextThis lesson checks how sleep, feelings, past hurts, big worry about pain, substance use, and social life shape pain feeling and telling, and how to mix body-mind-social info into checking, risk grouping, and care planning.
Planning a full pain historyChecking sleep problems and tirednessScreening for sadness, worry, and past traumaSpotting big pain worry and fear of activityChecking substance use and coping waysLooking at family, work, and culture lifeLesson 6Frequency and timing of assessment: perioperative, post-analgesia reassessment, flare monitoring and documentation standardsThis lesson explains how often and when to check pain around surgery, in hospital, and outside, including after pain medicine check, tracking pain bursts, and record standards that help safety, quality checks, and rules following.
Surgery around pain check timesAfter pain medicine check and response trackingWatching pain bursts and sudden episodesRecording pain scores and daily function resultsMeeting place and rule needsLesson 7Assessing risk and safety: opioid risk tools (ORT), screening for substance use disorder, and assessing fall and bleeding riskThis lesson focuses on planned risk checking before and during opioid treatment, including ORT use, substance use problem screening, and checking fall, sleepiness, and bleeding risk to guide watching, recording, and shared choices.
Using ORT and like opioid risk toolsScreening for substance use and wrong use patternsChecking fall, sleepiness, and breathing riskChecking bleeding risk with pain medicine picksWatching plans for high-risk pain patientsLesson 8Communication techniques for pain assessment: empathetic questioning, shared decision prompts, and handling denial or minimization of painThis lesson builds talking skills for right pain checking, including caring questions, confirming experiences, shared choice starters, and ways to handle not accepting, making small, or bigging up pain while keeping good patient relation.
Building trust and mind safetyOpen and aimed pain questionsConfirming pain while setting real goalsShared choice starters in pain talksHandling not accepting or making small of painManaging seen bigging up without shame
