Interact With the Team: Interdisciplinary Pain Rehabilitation #457

TUE 1 NOV // 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Primary Content Focus: Pain

Secondary Content Focus: Clinical practice (assessment, diagnosis, treatment, knowledge translation/EBP)

Chronic pain is a pervasive problem and affects many rehabilitation diagnoses. This instructional course will help the physician, psychologist, and therapist understand how each discipline plays an integral role in the assessment and treatment of chronic pain. After didactic instruction, there will be breakouts sessions in an experiential round robin type of format designed to better understand the unique contributions of all disciplines toward prevention of and treatment for dysfunctional response to pain. This format will allow a greater understanding and appreciation for the “power of the team” , while also giving practical techniques to use in practice.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Define chronic pain and understand the unique challenges patients with chronic pain face in regard to their healthcare
Demonstrate an understanding of the roles of the various disciplines within an interdisciplinary pain program, including medical, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, and biofeedback therapy
Demonstrate an understanding of which patients would benefit from such a program and how to guide and refer patients
Demonstrate specific stragegies which physicians and therapists can immediately implement to alter the patient’s dysfunctional response to chronic pain

KEY WORDS

chronic pain
biopsychosocial
pain rehabilitation

FACULTY

Virgil Wittmer, PhD
Executive Director, Brooks Rehabilitation

Dr. Wittmer has a PhD in clinical psychology from Washington State University, with internship training at The Ohio State University Medical Center. His primary specialty was in health psychology and behavioral medicine which focus on patients with primary medical disorders such as chronic pain. Dr. Wittmer is a licensed psychologist in the State of Florida. He began his training and experience with chronic pain patients in 1982. He has been with Brooks Rehabilitation for the past 28 years and is the Executive Director of the Brooks Pain Rehabilitation Program. He has published numerous articles on chronic pain for years in his association with the University of Florida. He has been an invited speaker many times at the Annual Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference (WCI in Orlando) on the topic of chronic pain treatment. Dr. Wittmer is also current Chair of Pain Rehabilitation with the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM).

James Atchison, DO
Medical Director- Center for Pain Management, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

Dr. Atchison serves as the Medical Director for RIC’s Center for Pain Management and identified a need for education of physicians in various areas on interdisciplinary pain management. He has over 20 years of experience in pain management and has taught in many conferences and classes on the topic.