Medical Pain Education - A brief history
Medical Pain Education was set up in 1982 with the specific aim of providing Australian practitioners with quality medical acupuncture education.
"During the early Eighties there was no one in Australia with sufficient Acupuncture Education to qualify as an expert teacher." ...Simon Strauss.
This
deficit was addressed by the importation of two specialist Medical
Acupuncturists from the Peoples Republic of China, both with long term
academic positions and practical experience. These teachers were
available to Medical Pain Education as a result of the ties Simon
Strauss established during his training at the Nanking College of
Traditional Chinese Medicine's, WHO recognised course of medical
acupuncture 1978. (This was the first course for western medical
practitioners and was designed by the WHO to provide acupuncture
educators for second world countries.)
Over the following years, our two Chinese teachers in conjunction with Simon Strauss, ran 'continual' courses at 10 High St. Southport, a busy Multidisciplinary Pain Clinic. These courses initially were of 6 week duration, this was later reduced to one month and then into integrated weekly segments. These changes were made in response to our students wishes. From 1983, Medical Pain Education introduced acupuncture to several hundred Australian doctors. Informal surveys over the years established that the majority of our students went home and utilised what they had learnt.
Since 1992 Medical Pain Education in response to
repeated requests for short intense meaningful courses, again changed
the teaching format to, four day, forty plus hours of immersion style
teaching.
These courses taught by Professor Anton Jayasuriya,
who attended the first Acupuncture course for third world countries
held in Beijing, 1976, have been remarkably successful both as to
attendance and to the acquisition of useful knowledge. The latter has
been formally assessed by written survey of attendees several months
after attendance. Our four months post seminar evaluation, showed that
100% of responders had used Acupuncture, 71% had used most and 14% had
used all the material presented. 29% stated they were referring less
for Radiology and 74% stated they were referring less for pain
management. 92% reported a change in their management of Pain patients.
These results are a tribute to Professor Jayasuriya's skill, dedication
and vast clinical and teaching experience that allows our seminar
attendees to acquire so much useful, practical knowledge in so little
time.
"Medical Pain Education's learning objectives clearly are being met. Again the importance of our policy of having China trained medical acupuncturists as teachers has been validated."
Addendum:
In 1997 Medical Pain Education widened its educational focus and included specific seminars on Myofascial Pain Management. Professor David Simons and Lois Simons along with Australia's leading experts were very well received by the 180 attendees.
The attendees opinion can be
found under seminar evaluations. In response to their requests we have
added highly focused Myofascial Pain Management Workshop - Courses to
our yearly calendar.
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Correspondence to : Marilyn Strauss , Convenor.
31 Charlton Street, Southport, Queensland, Australia 4215
Tel. 07 55 313810, Fax 07 55326199, Mobile 0413 763810
International Telephone 61 - 75 31 3810. International Fax. 61 - 75 32 6199
E-mail: [email protected]