Applying Pain Principles in Practice (ACP module)

Pain is considered a multidimensional experience. Understanding pain requires an in-depth knowledge of pain neuroscience and potential contributing factors, which can be psychological, social or cultural.

This module will help you develop skills to evaluate and debate the literature around pain neuroscience and pain drivers. This will enable you to develop a critical approach to assessing an individual’s pain drivers and to create appropriate treatment plans in collaboration with individuals who are experiencing pain. The foundation to this is adopting cognitive behavioural principles and an advanced communication approach.

Through debate and interactive tutorials learners will reflect on their own and societal beliefs about pain and how their communication can influence an individual’s understanding and management of pain.

The module is part of both the Advanced Clinical Practice MSc, and the Healthcare Practice MSc, and can also be taken as a stand-alone module.

Who is it for?

This course is for designed for allied health professionals and nurses.

Timetable

The next cohort of this module runs in September 2026. Please contact pec@sgul.ac.uk to register your interest.

This module is part-time with dates on-site (approximately 8 in total) spread across 10 weeks.

Benefits

This module will enable you to:

• Develop an evidenced-based approach that you can use to help individuals to manage their pain and to participate in life situations
• Critique current neuroscience and philosophical theories of pain and discuss how they have changed over time leading to our contemporary understanding of pain and its classifications
• Explore the interrelationship between bio-physiological (neuroanatomy, neuroimmunity, biochemistry), psychological and social factors and how these contribute to the pain experience, and how each factor may be modified in pain management approaches
• Develop advanced communication skills relevant to those individuals experiencing pain – questioning style and content, cognitive-behavioural strategies, non-verbal skills and paralinguistic factors
• Consider different pain treatment and management approaches including physical, psychological pharmaceutical and surgical
• Critique your own beliefs, communication and management of individuals in pain.

This short course module is designed to be flexible in allowing you to study and reach your goals at your own pace. Our health CPD courses are credit-bearing modules that may contribute to a University degree or award.

Transfer course credits towards postgraduate taught degree

As a health care professional, once you've completed this course you could offset 15 credits as part of a postgraduate programme, continuing your study with further modules to make up a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) 60 credits.

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:

• Analyse and debate the literature relating to pain neuroscience and pain as a multidimensional experience
• Demonstrate a critical approach to the selection of assessment techniques and apply knowledge of pain neuroscience to determine likely pain states and the drivers of an individual’s pain experience
• Evaluate research evidence and clinical findings to determine the most appropriate strategy to facilitate an individual in managing their pain
• Demonstrate advanced communication skills to explain pain and facilitate the patient in addressing drivers of their pain experience
• Critically reflect on pre-existing attitudes and beliefs towards pain and evaluate how your learning in this module has affected patient communication.

Credits

This course is worth 15 credits toward eligible programmes.

If applying for this module, you MUST state the Module Title and Course Code in the personal statement tab. Without this we will be unaware of what module you are applying for and will delay your application decision.

This course is for qualified Allied Health Professionals and Nurses.

If you have any questions, you can contact us at pec@sgul.ac.uk.

Qualification requirements

To apply for this course, you will need to provide evidence that you have previous academic study suited to Level 7/MSc study. Please provide evidence of one of the following in your application:

• MSc – ideally in a healthcare related subject

• PgCert or 60 free-standing level 7 credits

• BSc(Hons) 2:2 or above – ideally in a healthcare related subject

• BSc with evidence of 30 credits + at Level 6 graded B grade or above

• DipHE with evidence of 30 credits + at Level 6 graded B grade or above

English requirements

If English is not your first language, you will require one of the following:

• A first degree from a UK university
• A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by City St George's, University of London as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language, for example, from institutions from Australia, Canada or the United States of America
• International English Language Test Service (IELTS) a score of 7.0 is required with no subtest below 7.0
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) score 72 required
• TOEFL 100 overall with 24 in Writing, 20 in Listening, 19 Reading and 20 Speaking
• Other evidence of proficiency in the English language, which satisfies the board of studies concerned, including registration with your professional regulator.

Full details can be found on our English Language requirements webpage.