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Review of Clinician Stressors in Chronic Pain Management and Addiction Medicine


MOJ Addiction Medicine & Therapy
J Kimber Rotchford
Olympas Pain and Addiction Services (OPAS), USA

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to highlight some stressors common to clinicians working in the field of pain management and addiction medicine. These stressors help explain the shortage of providers who specialize in managing complex pain patients. The lack of qualified providers adds to the challenges many patients have in finding safe and effective help for pain management and substance use disorders. The paper reviews some common psychological and emotional factors that confront clinicians who care for patients with chronic pain and addiction related concerns. A partial list of these factors includes: a sense of not being in control, the stress of being lied to, social and professional expectations, interactions with the criminal justice system and other regulatory agencies, limited pertinent clinical literature, complicated comorbid psychiatric issues, transference & counter transference, delayed rewards, and frequent patient setbacks or relapses. Some suggestions are provided to address these stressors.

Keywords

Chronic complex pain, Pain management, Addiction, Substance use disorder, Opioid use disorder, Patient access, Clinician stress, Physician burnout, Physician shortage, Dual-diagnosis, Chronic opioid agonist therapy(COAT), Informal review, Dysfunctional patterns, Psychological, Emotional, Morbidity

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