1800 - Multimodal Pain Management: Pilot Educational Session for Medical Students

Friday, February 20, 2026

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM AST

Presenting Author(s)

LS

Laura D. Santiago, BS

Medical Student
Universidad Central del Caribe
San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States

Co-Author(s)

CG

Carolina Ganan Mejia, BS

Medical Student
Universidad Central del Caribe
Bayamon, Puerto Rico, United States

Presenting Author(s)

DO

Danisa I. Oyola Soto, BS

Medical Student
Universidad Central del Caribe
Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, United States

Submitter(s)

LS

Laura D. Santiago

Universidad Central del Caribe
San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States

Objectives: Pain management is essential knowledge for all physicians, yet the curricula at most medical schools emphasize pharmacological management, particularly opioids, with limited attention to other medications and nonpharmacologic strategies. By introducing non-pharmacological therapy education in medical training, students can become more confident and competent in offering alternatives. This is useful for students who participate in student-run free clinics, where limited funds may restrict access to medications. This session aimed to improve medical students’ understanding of multimodal pain care, focusing on nonpharmacologic interventions, consistent with recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Design: The session was held at a student-run free clinic and included a 20-minute interactive didactic that covered pain physiology, pharmacologic options, and nonpharmacologic approaches. Students received a summary sheet outlining key principles of multimodal pain management for reference. A pre- and post-survey, administered via Google Forms, assessed students’ self-reported confidence in managing pain. The survey included four questions on confidence in pain management and provided space for open-ended feedback and comments.

Results:
Fifteen students participated in the session. Before the session, six (40%) reported moderate confidence in their ability to manage pain, with only one (0.06%) reporting complete confidence. The remaining 9 (60%) students reported no confidence in managing pain. After the session, 14 students (93%) reported above moderate confidence, with six (40%) indicating they felt “very confident” in managing pain. These findings are consistent with prior studies demonstrating that focused pain education can significantly improve knowledge and confidence among medical trainees.

Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates how a didactic on multimodal pain management improved medical students’ confidence in pain management. Earlier introduction to diversified pain care, including nonpharmacologic strategies, may better prepare medical students to manage pain more confidently and competently, and thus provide improved care in student-run free clinics.