Pain medicine is not taught as a dedicated unit in most European medical schools and there is a lack of awareness of the societal impact of pain in the broader community. This is one of the four key priorities of the SIP Thematic Network Joint Statement, where SIP recommends for Policy Action to prioritise pain education for health care professionals, patients, policymakers, and the general public.
At the 2019 EFIC congress in Valencia, Dr. Andreas Kopf reaffirmed that the change for patients will only come if pain medicine is not segregated, but is an integral part of education of all medical disciplines.
This is one of the targets the SIP platform has been working towards for 10 years. Read more about pain education and see the interview with Dr. Kopf.