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Senate Hearing On Sweeping Problem Of 'Pain In America'

As I type this, the United States Senate is holding a major hearing on the huge problem of chronic pain in America. You can watch the simulcast here.

Syndicated columnist Judy Foreman, currently working on a book on pain, writes:

At long, long last, the US Senate is paying attention to chronic pain. At a hearing today, they are listening to a handful of pain experts - and patients - who are filling their ears, and hopefully, their hearts, with details about the enormous, unsolved problem of chronic pain in America. What they may not hear - but should - is how woefully uneducated physicians are about chronic pain. There's a good, and obviously sad, reason why physicians know so little about pain: Medical schools don't teach it. A major study of 117 medical schools from Johns Hopkins last year showed that out of all those years in medical school, med students get a median of only 9 hours of pain education. Even veterinary students get more. It's high time Senators, Congressmen, medical school deans and other powers-that-be took this to heart.

This program aired on February 14, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

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Carey Goldberg Editor, CommonHealth
Carey Goldberg is the editor of WBUR's CommonHealth section.

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