ASHP picks 15 pharmacists for third level of pain-relief traineeship

The ASHP Foundation said on Tuesday that 15 pharmacists have been chosen to participate in the ASHP Research and Education Foundation’s 2015 Pain and Palliative Care Traineeship (Level Three).

“The selection committee was incredibly impressed by the quality and diversity of this year's Level III applicants,” Chris Herndon, a traineeship faculty member and associate professor at Southern Illinois University's Edwardsville School of Pharmacy, said. “This traineeship provides an excellent opportunity for pharmacists to receive in-depth training, providing clinical pharmacy services to patients requiring pain management — something that can be an extremely difficult medical condition to resolve and which has a huge negative impact on quality of life.”

The Pain and Palliative Care Traineeship Program is a tiered educational initiative that includes:

• Level One: Pain management and palliative care self-assessment tool, a knowledge-based activity
• Level Two: Application of the principles of pain management and palliative care, an application-based activity
• Level Three: Live experimental program, a practice-based activity

The activities were designed so that pharmacists can systematically acquire specific skills, knowledge, attitudes and performance behaviors to expand practice abilities in pain management and palliative care.

“No other program, short of a residency, can provide the knowledge and individualized patient-care experiences trainees seek to help them reach their career goals,” Herndon said.

The 2015 trainees completed levels one and two, and were selected from a large pool of applicants.