However, implementation of such a curriculum requires cooperation from all disciplines to overcome practical

barriers such as aligning timetables and other teaching resources. Trichostatin A research buy The second example is a US medical program that addresses affective and cognitive dimensions of pain (Murinson et al 2011). This novel curriculum incorporates different learning and teaching strategies, including workshops and role-play activities, and aligns with assessment tasks including development of a portfolio. The portfolio is a unique approach, requiring students to document their affective and cognitive associations with, and responses to, pain and pain-related experiences. This includes students undertaking a cold pressor test, providing a personal narrative of pain experiences, and responding

to representations of pain in literature and fine art. The reflective and experiential nature of these tasks provides a strong message to students about JQ1 molecular weight the importance of the personal and emotional context of pain. A further consideration for curriculum review or design is appropriate emphasis on interpersonal communication, behaviour change, and problem-solving skills (Foster and Delitto 2011). These skills align with person-centred care and the guidelines for chronic disease management. The adoption of person-centred models of care is particularly helpful as it encourages the consideration of the person’s individual life experiences and social context and how these can impact on neurophysiological function (Hunter and Simmonds 2010). Butler and Moseley’s (2003) ‘brain as an orchestra’ metaphor provides an accessible introduction to this concept, as does work by Norman Doidge (2007). Another helpful recommendation is to integrate the contributors to the human pain experience into existing curriculum content on the International Classification of Functioning

Disability and Health (WHO ICF) framework for the biopsychosocial approach to pain (Foster and Delitto 2011). Physiotherapy education frequently promotes learning of concepts and principles, however which in turn can be applied to new and unfamiliar situations. This would seem a particularly important consideration in pain education where some concepts, like pain is of the brain and not of the tissues, can prove troublesome. Once the concept that pain is of the brain is held, it is hard to return to the original thinking that pain is produced in the tissues. Such a concept could be considered a threshold concept (Cousin 2006). There are recommended processes for identifying threshold concepts in discipline areas (Cousin 2006) and undertaking such a process for pain education may improve the effectiveness of understanding pain concepts. An important issue to consider is that conflicting views about pain across the students’ learning experience can impact adversely on effective pain education (Foster and Delitto 2011).