Logo

Log In Sign Up |  An official publication of: American College of Emergency Physicians
Navigation
  • Home
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
  • Clinical
    • Airway Managment
    • Case Reports
    • Critical Care
    • Guidelines
    • Imaging & Ultrasound
    • Pain & Palliative Care
    • Pediatrics
    • Resuscitation
    • Trauma & Injury
  • Resource Centers
    • mTBI Resource Center
  • Career
    • Practice Management
      • Benchmarking
      • Reimbursement & Coding
      • Care Team
      • Legal
      • Operations
      • Quality & Safety
    • Awards
    • Certification
    • Compensation
    • Early Career
    • Education
    • Leadership
    • Profiles
    • Retirement
    • Work-Life Balance
  • Columns
    • ACEP4U
    • Airway
    • Benchmarking
    • Brief19
    • By the Numbers
    • Coding Wizard
    • EM Cases
    • End of the Rainbow
    • Equity Equation
    • FACEPs in the Crowd
    • Forensic Facts
    • From the College
    • Images in EM
    • Kids Korner
    • Medicolegal Mind
    • Opinion
      • Break Room
      • New Spin
      • Pro-Con
    • Pearls From EM Literature
    • Policy Rx
    • Practice Changers
    • Problem Solvers
    • Residency Spotlight
    • Resident Voice
    • Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine
    • Sound Advice
    • Special OPs
    • Toxicology Q&A
    • WorldTravelERs
  • Resources
    • ACEP.org
    • ACEP Knowledge Quiz
    • Issue Archives
    • CME Now
    • Annual Scientific Assembly
      • ACEP14
      • ACEP15
      • ACEP16
      • ACEP17
      • ACEP18
      • ACEP19
    • Annals of Emergency Medicine
    • JACEP Open
    • Emergency Medicine Foundation
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Medical Editor in Chief
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Awards
    • Authors
    • Article Submission
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright Information

HOT SESSION: Fresh Perspective on Pain Management

By ACEP Now | on October 27, 2014 | 1 Comment
ACEP 14 - Featured Uncategorized
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version

Diversion of pain medication from emergency departments is an issue of concern to physicians and politicians alike, but James Ducharme, MD, believes a balance between diversion wariness and efficient pain management is necessary for emergency physicians.

You Might Also Like
  • HOT SESSION: Treating Dental Pain in the Emergency Deptartment
  • ACEP’s New Pain Management Section Provides Venue to Discuss Pain Topics, Opioid Addiction
  • HOT SESSION: More Good Sessions Tuesday at ACEP14
Explore This Issue
ACEP14 Daily News Tuesday: Vol 33 - No10B - October 2014

“We have to understand that we’re trying to do right by the patient and that we want to ensure that we answer their needs in terms of pain management,” said Dr. Ducharme, a clinical professor of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who has researched and taught about pain for the last 20 years.

In his presentation, “’You Gotta Help Me, Doc!’—Novel Approaches to Pain Management in the ED,” Dr. Ducharme will discuss the use of opioids, the alternative medications that can be prescribed, and the negative consequences of patients and physicians ignoring acute pain.

Dr. Ducharme wants physicians to understand that patient communication is key to managing pain.“It’s not up to me to judge what’s enough pain relief; that’s the patient,” he said.

“You Gotta Help Me, Doc!”
Novel Approaches to Pain
Management in the ED

Tuesday, Oct. 28
4:30–5:30 p.m.
McCormick place west, w176ABC

Conversely, he acknowledges that patients do not realize the consequences of tolerating pain instead of treating it within the first day of symptoms. For example, migraine pain is more likely to return the next day if left even partially untreated. “Although we want to do what the patient wants us to do,” Dr. Ducharme said, “sometimes we have to realize there are other end targets that we have to try to avoid by taking control of pain.”

Dr. Ducharme believes the misunderstanding of chronic pain is caused by an absence of training on the topic for emergency physicians. Instead of shying away from the subject, pain needs to be approached just like diabetes or heart disease. “Chronic pain is no different from any other chronic disease, and yet we’ve ignored it,” he said. “Managing pain is purely an attitude reorientation.”

Francesca Baratta is a freelance writer based in New Jersey.

Topics: ACEP14Emergency Medicine

Related

  • EM Runs in the Family

    February 26, 2025 - 0 Comment
  • 2019 ACEP Elections Preview: Meet the ACEP Council Officer Candidates

    September 24, 2019 - 0 Comment
  • 2019 ACEP Elections Preview: Meet the Board of Directors Candidates

    August 20, 2019 - 0 Comment

Current Issue

ACEP Now: July 2025

Download PDF

Read More

About the Author

ACEP Now

View this author's posts »

One Response to “HOT SESSION: Fresh Perspective on Pain Management”

  1. December 10, 2014

    ACEP 14 | Physician's Weekly Reply

    […] HOT SESSION: Fresh Perspective on Pain Management […]

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


*
*

Wiley
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertise
  • Cookie Preferences
Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 2333-2603