What is IPC Pain Week?
OUR INITIATIVE
Transforming Pain Care
The Interfaculty Pain Curriculum (IPC), known by students as IPC Pain Week, represents a cutting-edge approach to pain education that aligns Health Canada’s vision for comprehensive, equitable approaches to pain management. Our curriculum addresses the critical need for healthcare professionals equipped to understand pain’s multidimensional nature and provide comprehensive pain care. Students examine how biological, psychological, and social factors, including social determinants, systemic barriers, and interprofessional collaboration, intersect to shape pain experiences and care possibilities for the millions affected by pain in Canada and globally. Pain Week begins with a land acknowledgment that connects territory to healing and recognizes how disconnection from land can contribute to pain experiences.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Preparing Healthcare Leaders for Complex Care
The IPC Pain Week program collaborates with various medical and health science disciplines across the University of Toronto to provide a more comprehensive approach to pain management education. IPC’s curriculum is built around the following primary learning objectives.
Learn About Pain
Analyze complex acute and chronic pain cases, understanding pain's biological, psychological, and social dimensions and their implications for people experiencing pain and their communities.
Use Systems-Based/Critical Thinking
Describe systemic interconnections faced by people living with pain, examining how healthcare systems, social determinants, and implicit bias influence pain experiences and care access.
Work Interprofessionally
Understand the need for creative, empathetic interprofessional approaches to pain care, developing collaborative relationships that honor diverse knowledge and center patient partnership.
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
What Does IPC Pain Week Look Like?
During our three-day event, health science students from a variety of disciplines come together to learn through our unique educational series that enhances their understanding of pain research, clinical practice, and pain management. Below is an overview of the various components that make up the Interfaculty Pain Curriculum (IPC).
01. Pain Week Foundations: Pre-Work
Before the program begins, students engage with foundational resources designed to prepare them for interprofessional learning. These include three Student Guides (Welcome to Pain Week, Understanding Interprofessional Teamwork, and Social Determinants of Health Guided Reflection), pain mechanisms and opioid modules, and the Virtual Interactive Case (VIC) featuring Anita D’Souza’s pain journey from acute to chronic pain.
Modules
Pain Mechanisms Module
A deep dive into understanding pain’s physiological and neurological aspects.
Podcast
‘Rummaging Through The Weeds’
An insightful podcast exploring the intersection of cannabis and pain management.
Action Plan on Pain in Canada
A critical review of the national strategy for pain management, highlighting its implications on healthcare.
02. Core Pain Education and Professional Development
Throughout the three-day curriculum, students engage in dynamic educational sessions that prioritize lived experience voices while developing critical understanding of pain care, enhancing their knowledge and skills for collaborative practice.
Opening Sessions and Expert Perspectives
Interactive online sessions featuring talks from pain specialists and individuals with lived pain experiences, fostering a comprehensive understanding of pain. Fireside chats with interprofessional healthcare providers share clinical insights and real-world perspectives on pain care challenges, while expert panels provide feedback on student-developed pain care plans, reinforcing practical application and critical reflection.
Educational Sessions and Real-Time Learning
Students explore various pain-related topics through live lectures and recordings covering subjects like communication, lower back pain, and mindfulness and pain. Innovative evaluation approaches, including pop-up reflection prompts during group work, capture and deepen student learning in the moment.
03. Profession-Specific Competencies
Students and professionals from each healthcare faculty receive specialized instruction, honing skills pertinent to their unique professional roles. This focused approach ensures that every discipline gains the competencies crucial for effective pain management within their specific field.
04. Interprofessional Work (Small Group Sessions)
Case Studies Facilitated by Experts
Step into the dynamic world of interprofessional collaboration with small group sessions of students from our eight participating faculties, —these sessions center around comprehensive pain cases using a Virtual Interactive Case (VIC), offering a unique platform for hands-on experience.
Guided by experienced facilitators and people with lived experience, students work through a person’s journey from acute to chronic pain, develop interprofessional SOAP notes, and create comprehensive care plans for chronic pain cases. These sessions enhance practical skills while examining social contexts, system barriers, cultural considerations and assumptions, fostering a deeper understanding of pain care through collaborative, equity-informed practice.
CURRICULUM CALENDAR
IPC Pain Week Working Schedule 2024
Pre-Work Before the IPC Program
Podcast
Cannabis for Pain Management
Monday, March 4
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IPC Team Event: First Connections
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(Live online)
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Break
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Keynote Speaker and Panel: Making Connections
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(Live Online)
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Break
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Profession-Specific Perspectives
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(Live online or in-person)
Tuesday, March 5 (Groups 1-20)
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GROUPS 1-20: Facilitated Interprofessional Teams
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CASE: Acute Pain Assessment of a Person With Acute Pain (In-person)
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Break
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Travel Time/Break
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Concurrent Session 2 - Mindfulness and Pain Management
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(Live Online)
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Break
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Concurrent Session
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(Pre-recorded Online)
Tuesday, March 5 (Groups 21-40)
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Concurrent Session 1 – Back Pain
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(Live Online)
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Break
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Concurrent Session
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(Pre-recorded Online)
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Break
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Travel Time/Break
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GROUPS 21-40: Facilitated Interprofessional Teams
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CASE: Acute Pain Assessment of a Person With Acute Pain (In-person)
Wednesday, March 6
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Concurrent Session
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(Pre-recorded Online)
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Teams Meet Independently
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CASE: Chronic Pain Care Plan
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Break
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GROUPS 1-40: Facilitated Interprofessional Teams
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CASE: Chronic Pain Care Plan Presentations (Live Online)
GET STARTED
Transform your institution’s approach to pain management education.
Adopt the University of Toronto’s IPC Pain Week curriculum, crafted for educational institutions to provide an in-depth, interprofessional pain management education. Contact us today to learn how to bring this innovative program to your students.
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Got Questions? We've Got Answers!
The intellectual property of the IPC belongs to the University of Toronto’s Centre for the Study of Pain (UTCSP).
While we strongly suggest there are synergistic benefits to the curriculum as a whole, please contact us to discuss implementing components of the IPC Pain Week curriculum in your unique educational setting.
The intellectual property belongs to the UTCSP but it is our goal to advance pain education globally. Please contact us for more information.
You can email us at utcsp@utoronto.ca.
We have run the IPC Pain Week program in hybrid, virtual and in-person formats.
