Deconstructing One Medical School’s Pain Curriculum: I. Content Analysis

Abstract

Objective. Inventory one medical school’s first- and second-year pain-related curriculum in order to explore opportunities to teach about pain both as a social, population-based process and as a neuron-centered phenomenon. Design. Deconstruction of pain-related curricular content through a detailed content inventory and analysis by students and faculty. Setting and Subjects. University-affiliated US medical school. Methods. Detailed inventory and content analysis of first- and second-year curricular materials. Results. The inventory of pain content showed fragmentation, mostly presenting it as a symptom without an underlying framework. Conclusion. Analysis of one medical school’s pain-related curricular materials reveals opportunities for a more unified perspective that includes pain as a widespread disease state (not merely a symptom) and to provide an emphasis in the curriculum consistent with pain’s public health burden.