The School of Nursing and Midwifery (SNM) organized a Training of Trainers workshop for its Academic Staff. The program was held on 23rd July 2024 at the Academic Board Chamber of CKT-UTAS and was on the theme “The Assessment and Management of Pain in Children”.
The workshop was part of a project titled Training the Trainer on Paediatric Pain Management in the Upper East Region of Ghana by staff of SNM, CKT-UTAS led by Dr. Francisca Achaliwie, Head of the Department of Midwifery.
The project is part of an award by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), a Developing Countries project initiative for improving pain education. Participants in attendance were both permanent teaching staff of SNM and part-time teaching staff who are Clinicians from the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital and the War Memorial Hospital, Navrongo.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Margaret Kukeba, Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery on behalf of the University Management welcomed the participants and stated that the focus of the interaction was to equip one another and share knowledge that is mutually beneficial to students and health workers to give their best.
Dr. Francisca Achaliwie HoD of the Department of Midwifery and Ms. Lilian Yiryuo from the War Memorial Hospital were the facilitators for the workshop, and their presentations centred on the classification of pain, key misconceptions about pain in children, physiology of pain and factors affecting pediatric responses to painful stimuli.
The presentation also touched on the assessment of pain, and pharmacological and non-pharmacological management which was insightful and intriguing.
Other activities held during the program included group discussion, card games, and contributions and questions. The workshop sought to improve upon the knowledge, attitudes, and skills in the assessment and management of pain in children, with the anticipation that the knowledge and skills obtained by these academic staff can be transmitted to students and clinicians.
A Practical Session was held at the Children and Neonatal Wards of the War Memorial Hospital at Navrongo where the participants had the opportunity to learn and practice how to assess pain in children using Validated Paediatric Pain assessment scales.
