medical students Archives - The Painful Truth

State Senator Gene Yaw means well when he suggests teaching all doctors the pros and cons of opioids. In theory, I appreciate what he’s saying and am pleased to see his support for broader education about opioids and pain management.

Medical Students Receive One Hour of Pain Management Education —

Veterinarians Receive More!

I often lament the fact that medical students get only about an hour of education in pain management (inclusive of opioid therapy training) before they become doctors. Veterinarians get more training in how to treat pain than medical students. The failure to teach medical students about treating pain has to be corrected before we can solve the opioids crisis.

Sometimes, it embarrasses me to be a medical professional. I honor and respect my colleagues, and typically, I’m proud to call myself a physician. But a recent Washington Post story about the enormous biases medical students have regarding pain treatment has troubled me deeply.

The Washington Post story reports that a majority of medical students at the University of Virginia believe that African Americans have less sensitive pain fibers than Caucasians. Of course, that implies that African Americans are not going to feel as much pain as their Caucasian counterparts, which likely leads to differential treatment. Unfortunately, as inexplicable as that finding is, the false belief is not limited to medical students at the University of Virginia.

In Pain Practice, Senator Gene Yaw Is Wrong

Medical Students Receive One Hour of Pain Management Education —

Veterinarians Receive More!

Enormous Gender and Ethnic Bias in Pain Treatment