Part
01
of nine
Part
01
Oral Surgeon Persona: Pain Management Options
Three primary methods oral surgeons use to find out about new options for mitigating patient pain are continuing education, which includes on-demand courses, live webinars, and interactive online tutorials with experts in their field; conferences; and professional journals.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGEONS (AAOMS)
- AAOMS is a professional organization that represents oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the US.
- AAOMS members are bound to adhere to national standards through continuing education.
- The organization offers its members continuing education (CE) in several formats, such as live webinars, CE on demand, and OMS knowledge update (OMSKU). Live webinars provide a platform for members to learn from professionals of other associations, ask questions to expert speakers, and interact in the discussion at hand. CE on demand offers online courses and access to webinars and programs at the members' convenience. Lastly, OMSKU is an innovative way to achieve continuing education. It provides members with online interactive tutorials written by professionals of the OMS field and other experts in various fields.
- The organization also holds annual meetings and scientific sessions and exhibitions for its members.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH (NIH)
- NIH encourages practitioners to collaborate with other agencies to share resources and education about the latest and most up-to-date scientific findings to reduce the dental community's reliance on opioid as a pain reliever, which can potentially lead to opioid abuse and addiction.
THE JOURNAL OF ORAL and MAXILLOFACIAL SURGEONS
- The Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons offers OMS articles of research of the latest innovations in therapeutic drugs and devices.
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF MAXILLOFACIAL SURGEONS (ACOMS)
- The American College of Maxillofacial Surgeons (ACOMS) is dedicated to providing educational activities to their members through their Learning Center.
- ACOMS Learning Center provides content from ACOMS events, such as conferences, CE on demand, and live educational events.
RESEARCH STRATEGY
To determine three to five primary methods oral surgeons use to learn about new options for mitigating patient pain, we began by searching for methods of how oral maxillofacial surgeons (OMS) learn about new developments and information in their field by searching websites such as the National Institute of Health, Research Gate, and the CDC. The results were not satisfactory as they were more focused on how to mitigate post-op pain rather than how oral surgeons learn of new options for mitigating pain. However, the National Institute of Health did explain the importance of dental professionals obtaining the most up-to-date scientific information when making decisions in pain management.
Next, we focused on OMS associations and dental journal websites, such as the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) and the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. We found that the OMS learn mainly through continuing education, attending conferences, and professional journals. Continuing education (CE) is required to maintain state standards. CE may exist in many formats, such as live webinars, on-demand classes, and live events. On-demand classes and courses allow the professionals to access materials on their own schedule while live webinars and events allow them to collaborate with their peers and experts in their field and other areas such as scientific researchers and pharmacists. Attending conferences allow the OMS to visit exhibits and find out about the latest innovations in technique, tools, and medications. Conferences also give them opportunities to network with other professionals. Finally, the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery publishes a monthly publication providing knowledge of the latest scientific breakthroughs, research, and future explorations in the profession.