An Interprofessional Consensus of Core Competencies for Prelicensure Education in Pain Management

Core competencies in pain management for prelicensure health professional education were established not long ago. These competencies represent the expectation of minimal capabilities for graduating health care students for pain management and include 4 domains: multidimensional nature of pain, pain assessment and measurement, management of pain, and context of pain. This article’s purpose was to advocate for and identify how core competencies for pain can be applied to the professional (entry-level) physical therapist curriculum. By ensuring that core competencies in pain management are embedded within the foundation of physical therapist education, physical therapists will have the core knowledge needed for providing optimal care for patients, and the profession of physical therapy will continue to stand with all health professions that deal with comprehensive pain management.