Clinical and basic aspects of pain, a pioneer Master's degree in Spain for the treatment of patients afflicted by this disease

Newsroom

Pain is the first cause of medical consultation, it affects all ages, races and social conditions. It supposes an evident loss of the quality of life of the patients who suffer from it and of the relatives who live with them and entails enormous economic expenses due to the work absenteeism that it causes, the reduction of work performance and the cost of the treatments. The incidence of chronic pain increases with age and, considering the progressive aging of our population, it is a problem that tends to increase.

In recent years, it has been proposed that pain management be carried out in specialized units and in a multidisciplinary manner, including doctors from different specialties, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, etc.

The master Interuniversity Course in Clinical and Basic Aspects of Pain It is proposed with a mixed character: professional, researcher and academic. The general objective of the program is the training of professionals qualified to work in the field of pain, in its different aspects. Thus, and always respecting the professional competences that the law grants to each of the degrees, depending on the training of origin (doctors, nursing staff, physiotherapists, psychologists, pharmacists, dentists, podiatrists, etc.) the students at the end of the Master will be trained to develop their activity in the following areas:

• Study of mechanisms, causes and therapeutic approaches to pain.
• Participation in a multidisciplinary approach to pain treatment and in specialized hospital units (acute and chronic pain units)
• In the out-of-hospital environment: in Primary Care, pain is also the first cause of consultation, therefore, specialized training is also of interest to health professionals who carry out their activity in other environments (outpatient consultations, rehabilitation centers, geriatric centers , pharmacy offices, rural clinics, etc..).

Upon completion, graduates will have acquired knowledge and skills in research and pain care in their respective areas, and depending on their preferences and training, they will be able to focus on different professional opportunities (pharmaceutical industry, health care, etc.).

This master's degree has been taught since 2015 and derives from another (Master's study and treatment of pain) that was taught for more than 10 years.

Taking into account the profile of the graduates, the vast majority of whom are health professionals, the blended format is the most appropriate since, on the one hand, it makes it possible to make training compatible with their professional activity and, on the other hand, and given the eminently practical nature of Health Sciences, this Master is complemented by face-to-face training, based on rotations through Pain Units, basic scientific research laboratories and laboratories of the pharmaceutical industry.

In addition, the blended nature allows students from other autonomous communities and other countries to take the master's degree.

The faculty is made up of university professors from different areas of knowledge (anatomy, pharmacology, physiotherapy, psychology) and professionals with extensive experience in pain treatment from different autonomous communities.

It is the only master's degree in Spain focused and specialized in the treatment of pain from different points of view and, as it is official, it is valid at a European level and allows access to doctoral studies.

Feedback from former students is always very positive. Some of the first students who did so are now responsible for pain units in Spanish hospitals. Others have obtained work thanks to the completion of the master's degree and all highlight the expansion of training in the field of pain.

"Who knows pain, knows everything" Dante Alighieri