The online tutorial series with a case reinforces practical application of tools and competencies acquired during the live activity. Each tool is a combination of essentials in clinical practice, links to relevant scientific publications, and printable handout material for reference. Clinical Case following the online tutorials gives the learners an opportunity to earn extra CE credit upon completion.

1. Differentiating Types of Pain
             
2. Assessment of Pain
      
3. Know Your Drugs: Non-Opioids
      
4. Know Your Drugs: Opioids
      
5. Minimizing Adverse Effects
      
6. Clinical Case
      

Know Your Drugs: Opioids

The opioids can be an effective choice for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic pain. Current guidelines suggest the following:

The use of short-acting opioids is supported for initiating opioid therapy at low doses, for titration to an effective dose in conjunction with a long-acting opioid, and for end-of-dose breakthrough pain with long-acting opioids. However, there is a lack of data to support the use of large quantities or frequent dosing of short-acting agents in the absence of a long-acting opioid.

The current selection of long-acting oral opioid medications is shown below.