Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop expert-based guidelines for a medical student curriculum on chronic pain evaluation and management in older adults.
Methods: A modified Delphi approach was used to survey an interdisciplinary panel (N = 12) with expertise in pain assessment, pharmacological and nonpharmacological pain management, and medical student education. A list of core knowledge/attitudes/skills (KAS) competency items was developed based upon a comprehensive literature review and clinical experience. The expert panel was then asked to consider the degree to which each item should be included in a pain education curriculum, using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree with inclusion of item). Items with a mean>4.0 (agree) and a standard deviation (SD) <1 were retained, while others were discarded. Retained items were refined, and new items were added based upon panel suggestions. The new KAS list was again scored by the expert panel, and items with a mean <4.0 and SD <1 were discarded.
Results: The original KAS list contained eight pain assessment knowledge, seven pain management knowledge, 12 pain attitudes, and 14 skills/abilities items. The final list, presented in this paper, consisted of 11 pain assessment knowledge, seven pain management knowledge, 12 pain attitudes, and 12 skills/abilities items.
Discussion: We have developed curriculum content guidelines for educating medical students about the evaluation and management of chronic pain in older adults. Once curricula are developed, their efficacy, in particular their influence on patient outcomes, must be evaluated.