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Pain Management

AANP Resources by Therapeutic Area

Continuing Education Courses

The AANP CE Center offers a wide variety of continuing education (CE) activities for nurse practitioners (NPs). Members of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) get more, including access to many free activities and significantly discounted rates on others. The AANP CE Center hosts dozens of CE activities covering multiple aspects of pain management.

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JAANP Resource Center

Find evidence-based articles, up-to-date guidelines and other resources about substance use, palliative care and more at this resource center, brought to you by the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (JAANP).

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NP Tools and Resources

AANP-Developed Resources to Support NPs in Treating Your Patients

Practice Brief: Opioids for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain: A Position Paper of the American Academy of Neurology.

Patient Education Tools and Resources

Breaking the Cycle of Opioid Use Disorder

This handout is designed to support NPs working with patients who will or currently are receiving treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). During shared clinical decision-making, the tool can guide the patient education on how the medications are used to treat OUD work and their common side effects. This handout provides a way for patients to take an active role in their recovery by utilizing journaling of their treatment goals, triggers and positive coping skills.

Patient Handout.

This activity is supported by Indivor Inc.

AANP Community

Engage, Learn, Network and Progress Practice in Pain Management

The Pain Management Specialty Practice Group (SPG) offers a unique opportunity to interactively collaborate with colleagues who share an interest or clinical expertise in pain management. As an SPG member, you’ll have access to a cutting-edge, online forum where you can engage in discussions, document sharing and knowledge exchange with fellow NPs. Come learn, share and help progress the development of theory and practice in pain management.

Join the Pain Management SPG

Pain Management SPG Members Login

External Resources

Conveniently Curated Information From Other Top Sources

There are many resources available for both patients and providers. Some are listed below for your convenience. The inclusion of these links does not imply AANP endorsement.

ER/LA Opioid Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Resources

FDA Blueprint
- FDA Blueprint for Prescriber Education for ER/LA Opioid Analgesics.
Assessing Patients for Treatment
Pain Inventory Tools
- Brief Pain Inventory (short and long forms).
- McGill Pain Questionnaire (The Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain).
Risk Assessment Tools
Starting, Progressing and Stopping ER/LA Opioids
Treatment Guidelines
- Chou, R. et al. (2009) American Pain Society: American Academy of Pain Medicine Opioids Guidelines Panel. Clinical Guidelines for the use of chronic opioid therapy in chronic non-cancer pain. J Pain, 10, 113-130.
Urine Drug Screening and Testing
- Screening.
- Testing.
Additional Links
Managing Ongoing Treatment
Tools for Monitoring
Know Your State's Guidelines
- Federation of State Medical Boards.
Counseling on Safe Use
Patient Counseling Document
- English.
- Spanish.
Additional Links
- How to Dispose of Unused Drugs Safely Guideline.
- Medication Take Back.
Additional Resources
Addiction Medicine Associations
- American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Pain Associations
- American Academy of Pain Medicine.
- American Chronic Pain Association.
Controlled Substances Laws and Regulations