Pain Schools
What are the European Pain Federation EFIC® Pain Schools?
An EFIC Pain School is an in-person educational event, usually spanning 3-4 days, wherein a group of healthcare professionals receive high quality hands-on and interactive teaching from leading pain educators. The teaching should be reflective of EFIC’s postgraduate curricula, and a pool of participants should be able to attend free of charge and with minimal cost, on the basis of a grant provided by EFIC to the hosts. EFIC Pain Schools are taught in English.
Objectives of an EFIC Pain School:
- Provide a high-quality engaging European education experience for attendees
- Focus on clinical management aspects but maintain an emphasis on the latest (translational) research
- Bring the EFIC curricula to life and go further than is possible with an EFIC refresher course or e-learning session
- Promote access to medical and allied health professionals (nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists) and attendees from less economically developed countries
- Facilitate interprofessional collaboration, as well as collaboration between clinicians and researchers.
Want to learn more about our EFIC Pain Schools? Check out our EFIC Pain Schools at a glance.
European Pain Federation EFIC® Pain Schools 2025
The European Pain Federation EFIC is seeking proposals for new ‘EFIC Pain Schools’, for which EFIC will provide a fixed grant. Proposals will be evaluated by the EFIC Education Committee and successful proposers will be provided with the grant to support the implementation of the event. Our ambition is for a new EFIC Pain School to be chosen each year, ideally covering an area of pain management not recently covered by other recent EFIC Pain Schools.
The funding provided will be 18,000 euros.
Proposals should take into account EFIC’s manual for EFIC Pain Schools and should follow the accompanying proposal form. Adherence to the manual and the principles of what defines an EFIC Pain School is essential.
We are currently seeking proposals for the year 2025. The school can be proposed at a time of the proposers choosing, though we advise it takes place no earlier than 1 May 2025, in order to manage promotion and registration of attendees.
The deadline for proposals is 30 September 2024.
Proposers should be notified of their status by 15 December 2024.
Proposals will be evaluated by the EFIC Education Committee, in consultation with the Executive Board and Executive Office. Feedback will be provided to successful and unsuccessful applicants.
EFIC is especially looking for proposals on the following topics:
- Musculoskeletal pain
- Visceral pain
- Integrative pain management
- Pain in primary care
- Proposals for Schools situated in Eastern Europe
- Pain in the elderly / Pain in those with cognitive decline
European Pain Federation EFIC® Pain Schools 2024
European Pain Federation EFIC® Pain Schools 2023
EFIC Pain School on Musculoskeletal Pain, 27-30 March 2023 in Aalborg, Denmark (Application closed)
EFIC Pain School on Cancer Pain and Palliative Care, 16-19 May 2023 in Maribor, Slovenia
(Application closed)
EFIC Pain School on Acute Pain / Perioperative and Trauma-Related Pain, 26-28 November 2023, in Berlin, Germany (Application closed)
How can I apply for a grant to attend a European Pain Federation EFIC® Pain School?
- EFIC offer a certain number of places per Pain School free of charge via a grant. For these applicants, all teaching and related activities are provided for free, along with accommodation and meals. The only significant cost these applicants should expect to pay is their travel.
- Candidates should apply via EFIC centrally. See the subpage of each Pain School for more information.
- If you are subscribed to our mailing list, you will be informed whenever a registration process has opened.
- All applications are evaluated by the European Pain Federation EFIC® Committee on Education and approved by the Executive Board.
- If a successful applicant is not able to attend the Pain School for any reason, the applicant or the Councillor representing the applicant must inform the office, the Pain School and the respective Councillor in writing minimum 30 working days before the start of the Pain School. If no prior notice is received in this time period, and if no force majeure circumstances apply, the applicant may be excluded from future participation in EFIC’s educational activities.
Is it possible to attend a Pain School without the Grant?
EFIC Pain Schools are usually open to self-paying attendees. If you are interested in attending and you did not apply for or receive a funded place, please contact secretary@efic.org or the Pain School organizer directly.
Travel information
EFIC Pain Schools may require international travel. Please check the visa requirements relevant to your country and allow sufficient time to request any documentation required.
Guidance for new Pain Schools
EFIC is considering proposals for new Pain Schools. Find out more here in this manual for the formulation of new EFIC Pain Schools.
