On October 23, 2020, Pain BC and Providence Health Care co-hosted the 2020 Interdisciplinary Pain Education Day, an annual one-day conference that fosters ongoing pain education and networking opportunities for health care providers and, for the first time, people living with pain. This year’s conference was offered virtually and saw the greatest attendance since its inception more than a decade ago – more than 600 people registered from across Canada, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Patient advocate and former Pain BC Board Vice Chair, Keith Meldrum, opened the conference by sharing his lived experience of persistent pain and the importance of three simple words: “I believe you.” Keith’s presentation set the tone for the day, which explored transitional pain, nutrition and pain, neuromodulation, best practices for opioid stewardship programs, and advances in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) management. All six presentations were inspired by the International Association for the Study of Pain’s 2020 theme of “Pain prevention and early intervention for chronic pain.”
More than 200 people attended the live presentations, including health care providers of all disciplines and people living with chronic pain, who enriched the day with their first-hand experience and knowledge. Recordings of all six presentations, including a complete transcription, will be emailed to conference registrants by the end of October 2020.
It’s been incredible to witness the evolution of Interdisciplinary Pain Education Day and we feel inspired by the growing interest in, and commitment to, advancing the way chronic pain is understood and treated. Pain BC extends our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who presented or attended, as well as to the 2020 conference co-sponsors: Doctors of BC, the BC Chiropractic Association, and the Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of British Columbia (RMTBC). We look forward to seeing you at next year’s conference!