WARWICK – A panel of health experts is set to gather this weekend for the Community College of Rhode Island’s Changing the Culture of Pain Treatment Symposium.
The program is scheduled to feature a two-part discussion with members of a number of various health specialties to discuss evidence-based treatments for non-opioid pain relief.
“We are seeing a change in protocol and practice nationwide regarding the use of opioids to treat pain, and our symposium is an important step in helping health care professionals understand there are more thoughtful and far less-addictive alternatives,” said Suzanne Carr, a registered nurse and CCRI’s interim dean of health and rehabilitative sciences. “There is a whole range of treatment options that do not involve the use of opioids.”
Panelists are expected to discuss the benefits of non-opioid treatments such as clinical massage therapy, acupuncture, physical therapy and naturopathic medicine.
“This year’s symposium walks the attendee through safe steps to manage pain,” said Regina Cobb, symposium course director and CCRI’s therapeutic massage program director.
Dr. Matthew Smith, a clinical orthopedic professor at Brown University, will moderate the course, which begins with a presentation on pain neuroscience and psychologically informed care by Jennifer Hurrell, a physical therapist and CCRI professor.
The program will take place in CCRI’s Great Hall, where doors open at 7 a.m. on Oct. 19. Presentations run from 7:45 a.m. to noon.
Registration is $25 and available online.
Continuing medical education course credits are available through a partnership with the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Nurses can earn continuing nursing education contact hours through the Northeast Multistate Division, and a number of other service providers can earn certificates of completion for attending.
The symposium is supported by the R.I. Executive Office of Health and Human Services’ Health System Transformation Project.
