| Pain Management in the Elderly |
| Nanette Lavoie-Vaughan, M.S.N., APN |
Brief Course Description:
Pain has been identified in the recent nursing literature as the
fifth vital sign. The elderly patient commonly has both acute and
chronic pain management issues but physiological changes,
cognitive impairment and cultural values can affect the nurse
practitioner’s ability to appropriately diagnose and treat pain.
This program will discuss the modifications for assessing and
treating pain in the elderly, barriers to pain management, gold
standard treatment for acute and chronic pain based on the
American Geriatrics society guidelines and the AHCPR
guidelines, how to educate staff and family about pain
management, parameters for palliative care and specifics for
managing regulatory compliance in long term care.
Teaching Method:
Lecture with algorithms and case studies to illustrate treatment
plans based on comprehensive assessment.
Objectives
At the completion of this program, the participant will be able to:
1. Identify the 3 major barriers to pain management.
2. Identify a gold standard treatment plan for acute pain management.
3. Identify a gold standard treatment plan for chronic pain management.
4. Recognize the salient points of a palliative care pain management
plan.
Outline:
1. Recognition of pain
A. Modification in the elderly
B. Assessing pain/pain level
C. Diagnosing chronic pain
2. Physiologic barriers to pain management
A. Multiple comorbidities
B. Cognitive impairment
C. Altered pharmacokinetics
3. Education/Attitude barriers to pain management
A. Ageism
B. Skills
C. Beliefs
D. Fear of addiction
4. Regulatory/Policy barriers to pain management
A. OBRA
B. Controlled substances
C. Limited diagnostic capability
D. Restrictive reimbursement
E. Facility policies
5. Acute pain management
A. Diagnosis
B. Treatment
C. Documentation
6. Chronic pain management
A. Diagnosis
B. Treatment
C. Documentation
7. Staff/Family Education
A. Treatment plan
B. Fear of addiction
8. Palliative care
A. Protocols
B. Treatment plans
9. Pain management in long term care
A. F tag
B. Fifth vital sign
10. Case studies
11. Resources
12. Algorithms
Pain has been identified in the recent nursing literature as the
fifth vital sign. The elderly patient commonly has both acute and
chronic pain management issues but physiological changes,
cognitive impairment and cultural values can affect the nurse
practitioner’s ability to appropriately diagnose and treat pain.
This program will discuss the modifications for assessing and
treating pain in the elderly, barriers to pain management, gold
standard treatment for acute and chronic pain based on the
American Geriatrics society guidelines and the AHCPR
guidelines, how to educate staff and family about pain
management, parameters for palliative care and specifics for
managing regulatory compliance in long term care.
Teaching Method:
Lecture with algorithms and case studies to illustrate treatment
plans based on comprehensive assessment.
Objectives
At the completion of this program, the participant will be able to:
1. Identify the 3 major barriers to pain management.
2. Identify a gold standard treatment plan for acute pain management.
3. Identify a gold standard treatment plan for chronic pain management.
4. Recognize the salient points of a palliative care pain management
plan.
Outline:
1. Recognition of pain
A. Modification in the elderly
B. Assessing pain/pain level
C. Diagnosing chronic pain
2. Physiologic barriers to pain management
A. Multiple comorbidities
B. Cognitive impairment
C. Altered pharmacokinetics
3. Education/Attitude barriers to pain management
A. Ageism
B. Skills
C. Beliefs
D. Fear of addiction
4. Regulatory/Policy barriers to pain management
A. OBRA
B. Controlled substances
C. Limited diagnostic capability
D. Restrictive reimbursement
E. Facility policies
5. Acute pain management
A. Diagnosis
B. Treatment
C. Documentation
6. Chronic pain management
A. Diagnosis
B. Treatment
C. Documentation
7. Staff/Family Education
A. Treatment plan
B. Fear of addiction
8. Palliative care
A. Protocols
B. Treatment plans
9. Pain management in long term care
A. F tag
B. Fifth vital sign
10. Case studies
11. Resources
12. Algorithms
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