International Association for the Study of Pain | Core Curriculum for Professional Education in Pain, 3rd Edition

Core Curriculum
for Professional Education in Pain, 3rd edition

This book is available FREE ONLINE in pdf format.
To read, click here.

The third revision of the International Association for the Study of Pain® (IASP®) Core Curriculum has been many years in gestation. It follows the very successful format used by Dr. Howard L. Fields, editor of the second edition. The content has been expanded by over one-third; new chapters have been added, and virtually all the text and the references have been revised. It is hoped that members will find this a significantly improved resource for patient care and training purposes.

In the future, the curriculum core group believes the Web to be an ideal way to bring timely and rapid updates of this curriculum to the widest possible audience. We hope that this resource can become a dynamic and freely available asset for anyone with an interest in pain.

Part I.  General 

1. Anatomy and Physiology 

2. Pharmacology of Pain Transmission and Modulation 

3. The Development of Pain Systems 

4. Designing, Reporting, and Interpreting Clinical Research Studies about Treatments 

for Pain: Evidence-Based Medicine 

5. Animal Models of Pain and Ethics of Animal Experimentation 

6. Ethical Standards in Pain Management and Research 

Part II.  Assessment and Psychology of Pain 

7. Pain Measurement in Humans 

8. Placebo and Pain 

9. Clinical Nerve Function Studies and Imaging 

10. Epidemiology 

11. Psychosocial and Cultural Aspects of Pain 

12. Sex and Gender Issues in Pain 

Part III.  Treatment of Pain 

A. Pharmacology 

13. Opioids 

14. Antipyretic Analgesics: Nonsteroidals, Acetaminophen, and Phenazone Derivatives 

15. Antidepressants and Anticonvulsants 

16. Miscellaneous Agents 

B. Other Methods 

17. Psychological Treatments (Cognitive-Behavioral and Behavioral Interventions) 

18. Psychiatric Treatment 

19. Stimulation-Produced Analgesia 

20. Interventional Pain Management Including Nerve Blocks and Lesioning 

21. Surgical Pain Management 

22. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 

23. Work Rehabilitation 

24. Complementary Therapies 

Part IV.  Clinical States 

A. Taxonomy 

25. Taxonomy of Pain Syndromes 

B. Tissue Pain 

26. Acute and Postoperative Pain 

27. Cancer Pain 

28. Cervical Radicular Pain

29. Neck Pain 

30. Lumbar Radicular Pain 

31. Low Back Pain 

32. Musculoskeletal Pain 

33. Muscle and Myofascial Pain 

C. Visceral Pain 

34. Visceral Pain 

35. Chronic Urogenital Pain 

36. Pain in Pregnancy and Labor 

D. Headache and Facial Pain 

37. Headache 

38. Orofacial Pain 

E. Nerve Damage 

39. Neuropathic Pain 

40. Complex Regional Pain Syndromes 

F. Special Cases 

41. Pain in Infants, Children, and Adolescents 

42. Pain in Older Adults 

43. Pain Issues in Individuals with Limited Ability to Communicate Due 

to Cognitive Impairment 

44. Pain Relief in Substance Abusers 

45. Pain Relief in Areas of Deprivation and Conflict

http://www.iasp-pain.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Core_Curriculum_Book&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=1831