Pain Management and Opioid Stewardship

Assessment, multimodal analgesia, controlled-substance safeguards and tapering conversations that respect patients.

Contact hours: 3
Estimated time: 207 minutes
Last reviewed: Jun 5, 2026

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Post-test required · 80% to pass · unlimited retakes

About this course

Pain is undertreated and opioids are over-relied upon. This course balances both risks with current assessment practice, multimodal strategies, monitoring programs and honest tapering discussions. Includes content commonly required for pain management and controlled-substance CE mandates.

Learning objectives

Complete a comprehensive, bias-aware pain assessment.
Build a multimodal analgesia plan with non-opioid components.
Apply risk mitigation including PDMP review and naloxone co-prescribing.
Discuss tapering and opioid use disorder referral compassionately.

Course outline

12 sections · finish in any order across devices

1
Pain physiology
Nociceptive, neuropathic and centralized pain.
10 min
2
Assessment and documentation
Scales, function-focused goals and equity in assessment.
17 min
3
Non-pharmacologic strategies
Movement, heat/cold, CBT-informed coaching.
24 min
4
Non-opioid analgesics
Acetaminophen, NSAIDs, adjuvants and ceilings.
16 min
5
Opioid pharmacology
Equianalgesia, onset and duration.
23 min
6
Initiating opioids safely
Lowest effective dose and clear treatment agreements.
15 min
7
Monitoring and PDMP use
Prescription monitoring workflows and red flags.
22 min
8
Naloxone and overdose prevention
Who gets it and how to teach it.
14 min
9
Tapering and discontinuation
Shared decision making without abandonment.
21 min
10
Opioid use disorder
Screening, MOUD basics and referral.
13 min
11
Special populations
Older adults, pregnancy, sickle cell and cancer pain.
20 min
12
Case review
Two longitudinal cases and post-test prep.
12 min

This course satisfies

Michigan 2-hour pain and symptom management requirement
Nevada controlled substance misuse requirement
Pennsylvania opioid education for prescribers

Requirement summaries come from our state requirement records. Always confirm details with your board before you renew.

References and resources

CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain (placeholder citation)
SAMHSA medications for opioid use disorder resources (placeholder citation)

Update history

v2.8 · Jun 5, 2026 · Aligned tapering module with current guidance.

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