September 20, 2013
September 20, 2013 — As part of Pain Awareness Month, the Western Pain Society (WPS) will hold its 2013 Annual Clinical Meeting from Friday, Sept. 20 through Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Lane Community College Center for Meeting and Learning in Eugene. The conference will give physicians and other health care providers the opportunity to earn pain CME/CEU credits and expand their knowledge of pain assessment and management. The conference, which is themed “Tools for Teams: Completing the Pain Management Puzzle,” is organized in partnership with the Pain Society of Oregon (PSO) and the Pain Society of Washington (PSW). Friday and Saturday’s workshops for physicians and other medical practitioners will address identifying the components of a comprehensive pain assessment, the principles of pharmacology as they relate to pain management, the role of psychology in the treatment of pain and trends and techniques in pain research. WPS will also award its annual Pioneer in Pain Award to Scott Pengelly, Ph.D. on Saturday. Pengelly is a licensed psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Oregon whose practice focuses on pain and sports psychology. He has presented several papers to the Menninger Foundation and has been published in numerous journals and newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal. “Dr. Pengelly is being honored for his dedication, expertise and leadership in the field of pain medicine,” said Jennifer Wagner, executive director of the Western Pain Society. The Annual Clinical Meeting was formed to address the growing issue of chronic pain in the United States. Chronic pain reduces the quality of life for nearly one-third of Americans and costs society $560-635 billion each year in lost productivity and medical treatment. A 2011 report by the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Advancing Pain Research, Care and Education recommended better clinician training, the removal of institutional barriers to comprehensive care, increased focus on research and extensive patient education as solutions to reduce the negative impacts of pain on patients. Currently, the Oregon legislature mandates only seven hours of provider education in evaluation and treatment of pain. The conference will begin on Friday, Sept. 20 at 7:00 a.m. On-site registration is available. Full conference registration costs are $295 for non-members, $250 for WPS, PSO and PSW members, and $150 for students. Single day registration is $195 for non-members, $165 for WPS, PSO and PSW members, and $95 for students. For more information, visit the WPS conference website at westernpainsociety.org/conference/registration. About the Western Pain Society The Western Pain Society was founded by John Bonica in 1974, following the first meeting of the International Association for the Study of Pain. The Western Pain Society is a regional society of the American Pain Society, and is the largest society representing 13 western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The organization’s mission is threefold: to promote the education of its membership on the subject of pain; encourage research and discussion of causes for and treatment of pain; and support the American Pain Society’s establishment of standards for the treatment of pain.
