The National Strategy for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education was developed to guide the upskilling of the Australian health workforce in contemporary, evidence-based pain care with the aim of improving the health outcomes of people experiencing pain.
The national strategy identified five goals, the first of which was the development of a set of nationally consistent standards for education and training of health practitioners on pain management. The national strategy stipulated that the standards are to be relevant across all health disciplines and levels of education, cover both acute and chronic pain, and be underpinned by the values and principles of the strategy.
In general, standards set out specifications and guidelines that aim to ensure products, services, and systems are safe, consistent, and reliable. In health contexts, standards are guiding principles that define expected competencies, goals, specifications and/or quality outcomes, and are therefore commonly agreed on principles of what is the ideal. In many circumstances, standards also establish a common language that defines quality and safety criteria.
The many sets of standards which exist within the Australian health sector are designed to do just that – to promote safety, quality and consistency, as well as provide a common understanding and language among policymakers, funders, administrators and health practitioners. They also give consumers of Australia’s health services an understanding of the quality and level of care they should receive.
The Australian Standards for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education define the level of quality that can be expected for health practitioner pain management education and training in Australia and guide its development and delivery. It’s anticipated that comprehensive implementation of these standards would ensure that education and training on pain management is of the highest quality, thereby substantially addressing the long identified deficit in the pain management-related knowledge and skills of Australian health practitioners.
While use and uptake of the standards is voluntary, we trust that relevant health practitioners, educators, organisations and regulatory authorities will keenly adopt them in the development, delivery and evaluation of new education and training initiatives and in ongoing continuous improvement of education and training curricula.
