Before my accident, about six years ago, I worked at a prestige car dealership in Brisbane. This work was physically demanding as well as being quite social. We all had to get on well as it could be quite a pressured environment and humour often kept us going.
I was an advisory teacher when I suffered a spinal injury in 2007 that landed me in a Brisbane hospital emergency department.Thanks to a neurosurgeon, I regained the use of my left leg and the crushing pain eased. 
"Fortunately", the pain from my neck injury was so severe that it was taken seriously from the start.
I'd survived the traumas of a major motor car accident, the ignominity of a prostatectomy, and the despair and exasperation of three separate cancers and their harsh therapies, but nothing had prepared me for the greatest challenge of my life, dealing with chronic pain
6 when I was 17. Unrelated to any incident, I began to experience extreme back pain. I later discovered it was a degenerative disease with no cure, but at the time I thought it could just be 'fixed'.
September 23, 2006 was a beautiful, still, sunny autumn day.I was in the UK to visit my elderly mother and other family members and had taken the train to London to visit a friend.
Breast cancer is a diagnosis heard all too often these days at 13,000 diagnoses a year in Australia.
In 1962 at the age of 21, Renée was involved in a serious car accident that kept her in an English hospital - in a 40-bed geriatric ward - for nearly two years.
I had two major cycling accidents in the 1980s which caused a spinal fracture and severe whiplash.I quickly got over the accidents and was fine until the early 1990s when I started to have migraines. This gradually progressed to daily migraines by 1996.
I injured my neck in 1993 while attending a Scout Jamboree in Canada as a carer for a child with cerebral palsy.My pain symptoms didn't really show up until 1997 when I started getting lots of neck and arm pain. 
My injury happened over two days – August 30-31, 2001 – when I was asked to reorganise the office's new filing system.
That Friday in June 1990 began like any other Friday – two adults, three teenagers, family pets, all heading out. I was totally unaware that this was the day "Super Mum" would die and life as I knew it would be over.
Harry Perkins, son of Olympic champion swimmer and Painaustralia Director Kieren Perkins OAM, was diagnosed with chronic migraine at the tender age of eleven.
It happened on 28 August 2008 at 8.28am. Everything after that is a bit of a blur, but the moment the accident happened will be stuck in my memory forever.
I woke up one morning in 1988 with a sore back.As the pain continued to increase, I consulted my general practitioner who referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. After some tests, I was told that there were no problems and that the pain should go away. It didn't.
It was during a long jump attempt at my school's athletics try-outs when I was nine that I first hurt myself.As usual, I ran and jumped but as I hit the sand I felt pain in what I thought was my ankle.
I was nine years old when I damaged the ligaments in my left leg in a hurdling accident.After a year of treatment my leg hadn't healed – in fact the pain had worsened and I was diagnosed with chronic regional pain syndrome. 
As a chronic migraine sufferer I've lived with pain since I was a small child. With the help of sub-occipital electrodes and an implanted pulse generator (IPG implant) I can now manage my daily pain and rely less on heavy medications.
My first taste of pain and injury was when I was only three years old.We had a car accident and I had my lower lumbar joints damaged as well as whiplash injuries to my neck. No one knew this at the time, though, and by the time I was nine I was having X-rays on my back to find out why I was in so much pain.
My problems started in the early 1980s with the introduction of computers in most public service departments.In 1986,
I first incurred a serious back injury at work in 1985. It was not able to be evidence-based for five years (at the time of surgery).
Courses
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"There is good evidence, from both within the pain area and outside it, that having consumers, carers and other supporters armed with knowledge can reduce health care costs and the impact of illness." - National Pain Strategy, 2010 |
The following courses listed by Institution are designed to keep healthcare professionals up to date with new knowledge and best practice pain management options.
- University of Sydney
- Pain Management Research Institute (PMRI)
- The University of Melbourne
- La Trobe University
- Flinders University
- AIPPEN - Australasian Interprofessional Practice & Education Network
- Royal College of Nursing
- College of Nursing Burwood NSW
- GP Learning
University of Sydney
Graduate Certificate in Pain Management
The Graduate Certificate in Pain Management provides advanced education in pain management for graduates in medicine, dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy, psychology and other disciplines involved in pain management. This course is offered in the form of online distance education mode and may be completed full-time or part-time. The certificate is recognised for Continuing Medical Education/Maintenance of Professional Standards Program points by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. Read more
Graduate Diploma in Pain Management
The Graduate Diploma in Pain Management provides advanced education in pain management for graduates in medicine, dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy, psychology and other disciplines involved in pain management. This course is offered in the form of online distance education mode and may be completed full-time or part-time. The diploma is recognised for Continuing Medical Education/Maintenance of Professional Standards Program points by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. Read more
Master of Science in Medicine (Pain Management)
The Master of Science in Medicine (Pain Management) provides advanced education in pain management for graduates in medicine, dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy, psychology and other disciplines involved in pain management. This course is offered in the form of online distance education mode and you may complete the course full-time or part-time. The course is recognised for Continuing Medical Education/Maintenance of Professional Standards Program points by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. Read more
Master of Medicine (Pain Management)
The Master of Medicine (Pain Management) provides advanced education in pain management for graduates in medicine, dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy, psychology and other disciplines involved in pain management. This course is offered in the form of online distance education mode and may be completed full-time or part-time. The course is recognised for Continuing Medical Education/Maintenance of Professional Standards Program points by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. Read more
Pain Management Research Institute
Graduate Studies Program in Pain Management
The Graduate Studies Program in Pain Management is an online postgraduate coursework degree program offered through the Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney. The program is available entirely online. The program is multidisciplinary and open to medical practitioners, dentists, psychologists, nurses, physiotherapists and other health professionals who have an interest and involvement in the field of pain management. Teaching materials and online discussion groups are prepared and facilitated by an international faculty of experienced researchers and clinicians in the field of pain management. Read more
The University of Melbourne
Specialist Certificate in Palliative Care
The 'Specialist Certificate in Palliative Care' is a formal award of the University of Melbourne comprising 25 points of training at Masters level, delivered as two standard 12.5 point subjects requiring 4-5 days of face to face teaching each. 'Fundamentals of Palliative Care' is the core subject for the Specialist Certificate in Palliative Care and then students can choose either 'Adult Palliative Care' or 'Paediatric Palliative Care' to complete the award course. The Specialist Certificate in Palliative Care is a stand-alone award in its own right that can be used for credit into more substantial postgraduate courses (such as Masters Courses). In addition, some components of the award course subjects are also offered as short course options. Read more
La Trobe University
Graduate Certificate in Health Promoting Palliative Care and Postgraduate Diploma in Health Promoting Palliative Care
These graduate certificate and postgraduate diploma courses introduce the theory of health promotion practice and apply it to palliative care. Students will have the opportunity to examine connections and make links between policy, organisation and practice in health promotion and in palliative care, and to develop skills for interventions at each of these levels. The overall objective of the course is to develop leaders with ideas for innovative practices in health promoting palliative care, including community capacity building approaches. Read more
Flinders University
Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care
The Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care is an 18-unit program requiring one semester of full-time study (or the equivalent part-time). The course is offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences. The course aims to provide an opportunity for individuals from any professional background who are working in health related areas to deepen their knowledge base in palliative care within a global context. Read more
Graduate Diploma in Palliative Care
The Graduate Diploma in Palliative Care is a coursework award designed to enable practitioners from around the world to select a series of topics built on core material that will assist them to address particular needs within their practice and employment. The course aims to bring people from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to work together in appraisal, assessment and problem-solving required of a multi-disciplinary/multi-professional team in this area. Read more
Master of Palliative Care
The Master of Palliative Care is a coursework degree designed for professionals who are working in the area of palliative and supportive care. It aims to deepen and extend the knowledge and skills that are required in the area of palliative and supportive care. In addition, the course aims to provide an opportunity for students to critically reflect on their practice in the light of current evidence and of the experience of other students and faculty within a global context. Read more
AIPPEN - Australasian Interprofessional Practice & Education Network
General Practitioner Pain Education Program (gPEP)
The gPEP program uses a push-pull model of interprofessional learning to deliver education to General Practitioners (GPs) referring patients with non-specific low back (NSLBP). This project will pilot a novel system of education delivery to General Practitioners (GPs) who refer patients with acute and chronic to outpatient services in the public hospital system. Read more
Royal College of Nursing
Chronic Pain DVD Series
This 4 DVD series is a convenient, time efficient way of gaining the latest information on the management of chronic pain .
Designed specifically for the needs of nursing staff, it is ideal for AINs, ENs, Nurse Practitioners and RNs. This series deals with the complexities of medication related issues of chronic pain management in a relevant and practical way. Read more
College of Nursing Burwood NSW
Pain Management - 2 Day Course
This course is designed to update and increase nurse's knowledge on pain assessment and pain management within their work environment. This course will cover physiological pathways of pain and address the significance of this in relation to acute, chronic and cancer pain. Additionally, it will also include strategies that can be used for assessing pain and effective alleviation of individual experiences of pain. Read more
GP Learning: Effective Pain Management in General Practice
6-HOUR ONLINE STUDY COURSE FOR GPs
This active learning module is a development of the collaborate partnership between the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
It is designed to be studied in six one-hour modules, which address the following themes: making an effective pain diagnosis; the impact and management of psychological factors on pain; a whole person approach to managing chronic pain; identification and management of neuropathic pain; identification and management of low back pain; and opioids in pain management.
It is available in multiple operating systems, including Windows, Mac and iOS. Read more