Pain Science
The Pain Science Division is a special interest group that serves physiotherapists who have an interest in better understanding and managing pain and in connecting with likeminded clinicians, educators and researchers.
Pain Science Division
The Pain Science Division is a special interest group of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association that serves physiotherapists who have an interest in better understanding and managing pain and in connecting with likeminded clinicians, educators and researchers.The mission of the Pain Science Division is to:
- Foster connections and collaborations between clinicians, educators and researchers interested in pain and physiotherapy
- Facilitate the bidirectional translation of knowledge between pain research and clinical practice
- Integrate the professional interests of Canadian physiotherapists within national and international pain networks
Our Vision
Canadians with pain are living better with the help of physiotherapy.
Strategic Goals
In an effort to bring us closer to our shared vision, the PSD executive will prioritize the following three strategic planning initiatives over the coming year:
First and foremost we want to continue to provide our members with opportunities to advance their clinical practice, synthesize new research findings and connect with likeminded professionals. Our bi-monthly newsletter is an important contribution in this area. Our other offerings include regular opportunities for professional development (such as CPA teleconferences) and interaction (via Facebook and Twitter). In addition to these contributions we will roll out a new podcast series that aims to build better links between research and practice by discussing current issues related to pain.
Second, the PSD wants to help advance the level of pain education across the country. Pain is a multi-faceted and complex experience that warrants careful consideration and reflection by both entry-level students and experienced clinicians. Our goal is to address this issue from a multi-pronged perspective. In addition to providing clinicians with opportunities for professional development we also want to be in close communication with university-level educators and clinical specialization regulators. PSD executive members will initiate and facilitate discussions about pain education with representatives from Canadian entry-level physiotherapy programs. The PSD will also work to increase the national profile of CPA’s clinical specialist program and work with key stakeholders to refine our understanding of the competencies that best demonstrate specialization within the field of pain.
Third, the PSD executive wants to ensure the long-term sustainability of our Division. The PSD is the second youngest Division of the CPA. Remarkably, in the five years since forming, our membership has grown to more than 500 physiotherapists. As we continue to expand PSD’s scope and impact we will develop additional avenues for varying levels of membership involvement. We see member-based committees as an integral part of this process. We will therefore create three committees – the Newsletter, Communications and PainCast Committees – and six non-executive committee member positions. Committee membership will provide exciting opportunities for regular, moderately demanding, contributions from our members and will help ensure the sustainability of important PSD services. Stay tuned to view our upcoming 2021-22 strategic plan.
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Check out The Pain Science Blog for regular updates from Pain Science!
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