Background & Aims

Given the bio-psycho-social nature of chronic pain and its multifaceted impact on various health domains, an interprofessional approach is imperative. Successful therapeutic outcomes for patients with chronic pain hinge on the seamless coordination and integration of treatment strategies across diverse professions and disciplines. However, the current scenario in Germany reveals a lack of standardized training guidelines for health professionals, both at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. This absence of uniform training contributes to challenges in fostering collaboration among professionals with diverse educational background. Additionally, there is a lack of post-graduate training opportunities for early-career health care professionals specializing in pain management.

Methods

In 2023, we conducted a team-reasoning workshop at the annual meeting of the German Pain Society based on FINCO online and the FINCA framework (Witti et al., 2021 & 2023). Thirty-five interprofessional early career pain medicine professionals were introduced to team reasoning. In groups by profession, participants o developed treatment plans for patient cases, guided by facilitators and peer tutors. In the second step, workshop members presented their developed treatment strategies within reconfigured multi-professional teams. The results were then presented in a plenary session followed by a critical evaluation of the treatment plans and the group performance. Workshop feedback was collected via an evaluation on a 5-point Likert scale (1: very good; 5: poor) and participants completed a commitment to change (C2C) questionnaire assessing motivation and anticipated challenges. After 6 weeks, a follow-up C2C gathered insights on success and barriers in implementing the proposed changes.

Results

33/35 (94%) participants completed the evaluation, expressing high satisfaction with the workshop (mean 1.6, standard deviation (SD) 0.7). The workshop’s relevance to clinical practice was notably high (mean 1.6, SD 0.8). Positive outcomes included enhanced interprofessional perspective, including improved knowledge (mean 2.0, SD 1.0), clarified roles (mean 2.0, SD 0.8), and better understanding of procedures (mean 2.0, SD 0.8). C2C reports highlighted the following key themes: need for interprofessionalism (12/36, 33%), effective communication and cooperation (11/36, 31%), and insights into clinical reasoning (4/36, 11%). Participants showed strong motivation for C2C (mean 1.9, SD 0.8) with anticipated implementation difficulties rated as moderate (mean 2.6, SD 0.7). These moderate challenges were confirmed in the follow-up assessment (mean 2.6, SD 0.9), with reported barriers including time constraints and the need to step out of one’s comfort zone.

Conclusions

In summary, the interprofessional team-reasoning workshop emerged as a valuable tool for enhancing interprofessional collaboration and professionalism in the realm of pain medicine. The workshop effectively heightened participants’ awareness, prompting a reconsideration and optimization of conventional processes. The C2C data indicates potential workplace transformations, which highlights the practical relevance of the project. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and investigate the effect on the treatment and outcome of patients.

References

Witti, M. J., Zottmann, J. M., Wershofen, B., Thistlethwaite, J. E., Fischer, F., & Fischer, M. R. (2023). FINCA – a conceptual framework to improve interprofessional collaboration in health education and care. Frontiers in Medicine, 10. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1213300
Witti, M. J., Hartmann, D., Wershofen, B. & Zottmann, J. M. (2021). Building interprofessional and interinstitutional bridges in health care education. Medical Education, 55(11), 1309–1310. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14615

Presenting Author

Jan D. Wandrey

Poster Authors

Jan D. Wandrey

Dr. med.

Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care

Lead Author

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Luisa Kreß

Dr. med.

University Hospital Würzburg

Lead Author

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Nurcan Üçeyler

MD

Department of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Germany

Lead Author

E-mail

Marc Weidenbusch

Dr. Dr.

Institute of Medical Education, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany

Lead Author

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Matthias J. Witti

Institute of Medical Education, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany

Lead Author

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Topics

  • Education