Poll results: Medical education falters on pain relief

A significant number of ONI readers believe that their medical training in pain relief and opioid pharmacology is inadequate to help them meet the needs of their cancer patients with pain. Of those who responded to ONI’s June poll question-“Do you feel your medical school education in pain relief and opioid pharmacology was adequate?”-71% answered in the negative. Only 14% said that their pain management training was adequate, while 16% said they weren’t sure.

Although the International Association for the Study of Pain has established guidelines for pain management, compliance is spotty, said Kathleen M. Foley, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York.

The poll was linked to the article, “US cancer patients still plagued by undertreated pain” (June 2008, page 20). To respond to this month’s poll (on page 2), visit www.CancerNetwork.com.