Pain Coach and Toolkit Guide

2022 Pain Coach and Toolkit Guide

The PAMI Pain Coach and Toolkit Guide provides a comprehensive set of resources for institutions to develop a pain coaching education program within their setting. It contains a rationale for developing a pain education model, resources to hire and train a pain coach, information on integrative pain management resources and suggested data collection and evaluation tools.

PAMI Pain Coach Guide snip

A pain coach educator can work directly with the patient and the healthcare team to identify which treatment approaches are appropriate so a personalized treatment plan can be implemented. The pain coach educator is essentially helping the patient create their own individual pain management “recipe.” The PAMI Integrative Toolkit includes non-pharmacological treatment options and educational materials that can become part of an effective home management plan. Additionally, the PAMI Pain Coach Educator can work with patients and their caregivers to improve understanding of their pain, including all the factors which contribute to the pain experience. The approach for pain management can occur in a variety of environments, including outpatient, inpatient, and postoperative settings. This is especially important for safe and effective discharge planning.

The PAMI Pain Coach Education Program and Integrative Toolkit has been designed to be a model program for the ED, hospital, and outpatient settings. A novel pain coach educator model was developed to enhance patient education on pain management options and can be completed in person or modified as a phone or telehealth interaction. This program has expanded and adapted to offer services in various settings including high-risk patient populations such as older adults, patients with current or prior substance abuse, patients referred by the acute pain service, patients with frequent ED visits or readmissions for pain, and postoperative patients.

The content is a guide to how this program was developed, expanded, and evaluated. This guide and PAMI resources can be adapted for use in your institution by including the phrase, “Used with permission from the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville PAMI. Learn more at pami.emergency.med.jax.ufl.edu.”