Please note: This is the general version of the course: Opioids and Non-opioids for Pain Management in Critical and Emergency Care R527. No pharmacology credits will be earned. Click here to take the pharmacology version.

Course Summary

Safe medication administration in critical care and emergency settings is paramount to ensure optimal patient outcomes. Understanding the purpose, benefits, and risks of pharmacological agents available to patients with critical and painful conditions is necessary for clinicians to ensure potentially life-saving treatments and safely and appropriately manage treatment outcomes. Severe pain requires a prompt response and ongoing management of treatment during hospitalization and in the community setting.

Course Format

Homestudy

Course Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Opioid Analgesia for Moderate to Severe Pain
    • Chronic Pain Syndrome in the ICU
    • Morphine
    • Fentanyl
    • Other Opioid Types
  • Non-opioid Analgesia for Mild-to-Moderate Pain
    • Acetaminophen
    • Ibuprofen
    • Ketorolac
    • Efficacy of Non-opioid Analgesics
  • Drug Diversion: A Case Study Approach to Recognizing and Preventing Misuse of Analgesia
    • Opioid Analgesia for Chronic Pain
    • Non-opioid Analgesia for Episodic Headache
    • Alternative Therapy for Pain and Anxiety
  • Summary

Authors

Marilyn Lajoie, MD, DC, CCSP

Dr. Marilyn Lajoie obtained her medical degree from Saba University School of Medicine in 1999, Her residency began with one year of Anatomical and Surgical Pathology at Orlando Regional Medical Center, before transferring within the same post-graduate residency program to Internal Medicine. Upon completion of residency, she went into private practice in Orlando, where she specialized in Internal Medicine, Sports Medicine and Rehab, as well as acute and chronic pain management. Before becoming a medical doctor, she had practiced as a Chiropractic Physician, graduating from New York Chiropractic College in 1980, practicing initially on Long Island, N.Y., before moving to Florida where she had a successful chiropractic practice and physical rehabilitation center, and gained recognition as a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician. Dr. Lajoie was also the Director of Physical Therapy at Horizon Hospital, a residential and outpatient psychiatric hospital, and later, continued in the same capacity at Horizon’s sister psychiatric hospital in Brooksville, Florida. Dr. Lajoie maintained her chiropractic license and continued to practice both Internal Medicine and Chiropractic throughout private practice, until moving to the Veterans Healthcare System in 2014. Continuing in both fields, she became the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Montana VA, where she completed her service in 2021. Dr. Lajoie now works predominantly in telemedicine, and in an Expert Witness capacity for both medical and chiropractic cases. Still living in Montana, she enjoys being able to treat not only the rural areas of the state through this technology, but also patients across the US where she maintains multiple active state licenses. She and her husband also own a llama ranch with over thirty llamas that are hand selected for rare genetics. At the llama ranch, the public is invited to come and visit to learn about these elegant creatures, and to see ranch life firsthand – llama style! Dr. Lajoie and her husband have six adult children, as well as seven dogs.

Richard Daniels, PharmD, BCPS

Richard “Cole” Daniels earned his Doctor of Pharmacy(PharmD) from the Skaggs School of Pharmacy at the University of Montana in 2018. Throughout pharmacy school he completed a 3-year internship at Community Medical Center in Missoula, Montana in which he gained valuable experience in an acute care setting. Cole currently serves as a psychiatric clinical staff pharmacist at the Montana State Hospital. He has over 11 years of pharmacy experience having worked in several settings including retail, acute care, and inpatient psychiatric care. Cole has a diverse set of interests. However, acute care medicine, infectious disease, pain management, and asthma/COPD are a primary focus of his at the Montana State Hospital. He obtained board certification as a certified pharmacotherapy specialist in the Spring of 2022.