Publications
APS Bulletin • Volume 17, Number 1, 2007
President’s Message
Judith Paice, PhD RN
Together, Let’s Transform Research into Relief
The phrase “transforming research into relief” describes the work of the American Pain Society and who we are as a community. We are seeking to transform pain management and how the world thinks about pain. This phrase, and changes you will see in images and icons that make up our visual identity, will update our look and refine our message. I would like to thank the Communications Task Force, Mark Jensen, Seddon Savage and George Wilcox, and West and Associates, Inc., who worked with Chuck Weber and our staff to create this plan. You will soon see the results of this work on our Web site and in written materials.
To transform research into relief, we need to support high-quality research, provide pain-related education, advance evidence-based treatment, and advocate policy that drives these efforts. This is the APS mission and many volunteer members and the APS staff have spent time and energy to support this work. Here are some recent accomplishments.
Research
Dick Chapman, Ron Dubner, George Wilcox, Lonnie Zeltzer, Cathy Underwood, and I met with leaders of the NIH Pain Consortium (including Drs. Larry Tabak, Story Landis, and Patricia Grady) to discuss opportunities for communication and collaboration. The most recent data regarding NIH pain-related funding were presented, leading to a discussion on strategies for building research efforts and funding. The directors announced that NIH will sponsor a day-long pain symposium in Washington, DC, to be held in conjunction with our annual meeting.
In response to a Request for Information by the NIH to solicit ideas for “road map” strategic initiatives in areas that cut across missions of a variety of institutes and centers, APS submitted three proposals to ensure that pain is well represented.
Translational Task Force Chair Tim Ness, with Pat Mantyh, John Neubert, Laura Stone, and Ursula Wesselman, are developing a document to define translational research as it relates to pain, identify obstacles to translational pain research with possible solutions, list gaps in existing basic and clinical pain-related research, and describe how translational research might fit in the NIH roadmap.
There will be increased funding for the Future Leaders in Pain Small Research Grants Program this year, with five grants of $20,000 each being awarded. Thanks go to Sandy Ward’s committee for these efforts.
Travel support for young investigators to attend the annual scientific meeting will continue, and we are working to get additional funding. In 2006, 48 investigators received $750 each to attend the meeting.
Education
With the Foundation for Better Health Care, two conferences were held to educate primary care clinicians about pain. The 2-day “North American Pain Forums” were held in Anaheim, CA, and Chicago, and were attended by nearly 700 physicians, nurses, and others. Dennis Turk represented APS and spoke at the conferences along with other APS members.
Treatment
The APS Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards were announced to help advance the quality of pain management. Deb Gordon and Russ Portenoy, original task force chairs, along with members Michael Byas-Smith, Bob Jamison, Lori Reisner, and Steven Weisman developed criteria and evaluated the first round of applications. A second task force, chaired by Dennis Turk and me, will select final awardees, to be honored at the annual scientific meeting in Washington, DC.
Advocacy
At our mid-year board meeting, we realized we need a clear message to communicate to legislators in May. Nat Katz chairs the Legislative Agenda Task Force—with Gil Fanciullo, Chuck Inturrisi, Seddon Savage, and Dave Williams.
All of these efforts go beyond the usual workings of our organization. Many thanks to all volunteers who share their expertise to carry out the mission of APS to transform research into relief.