About the BC ECHO for Chronic Pain

Details:

Price:
FREE
Format:
online
Duration:
1 hour, monthly for 4 months
Only available in BC
Apply to access ECHO recordings

Based on the University of New Mexico model, the BC ECHO for Chronic Pain is a free, virtual community of practice for BC health care providers that leverages specialist knowledge to support community providers in delivering appropriate care to people living with chronic pain. Through our ECHO, health care providers can gain the knowledge, resources, and interprofessional support needed to provide immediate care to patients with chronic pain in their home communities.

Our ECHO sessions will consist of monthly one-hour sessions over four months. Each session will include a 15-minute instructive presentation from specialists on participant-identified topics, followed by a real, anonymized case presentation brought forward by a participating health care provider. Each session will wrap up with resources and recommendations. The instructive presentations will be recorded and made available to all registered health care providers via our learning management system.

Application

To participate in our ECHO program, you must work in British Columbia. When filling out the application form, we require you to submit a case about a person living with pain whom you are supporting. If you are not currently helping anyone living with pain, you can submit a hypothetical case or a case from the past. If your case is selected to be discussed in one of our sessions, you will receive an invitation via email. The hub team will present your case, but you need to be available during the discussion period to answer questions about the case and to learn from this community of practice. ECHO sessions are a safe space for everyone to ask questions. 

This program is only available for health care providers in BC

Topics and dates

The next cycle of our ECHO runs from February to May 2025. All sessions are held from 12:00-1:00 PM PT.

*Topics are subject to change. 

  • February 12, 2025: Back pain: Classification and pattern-based approach
  • March 12, 2025: Back pain: Pharmacological management
  • April 9, 2025: Back pain: Psychological treatments, including pain reprocessing therapy
  • May 14, 2025: Back pain: Interventional treatments

Participants are expected to attend all four sessions in a cycle and complete pre- and post-cycle surveys. Certificates for the cycle will only be issued upon submission of the post-cycle survey.

This program is only available to health care providers practicing in British Columbia. Questions? Contact learner support: learnersupport@painbc.ca

This one-credit-per-hour Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the British Columbia Chapter for up to 1 MainPro+ Credit. A non-CME certificate is available for participants who cannot claim MainPro+ credits.

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It's free

Our ECHO is fully funded by the Shared Care Committee (SCC), one of the Joint Collaborative Committees (JCC) of Doctors of BC and the BC Government.

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It's virtual

All you need is a computer and a webcam or a smartphone.

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It's fun

Connect with a growing community of primary and allied health care providers (including physicians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists and more) across the province to build a community of practice where everyone learns together with a shared purpose.

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Earn CME credits

This one-credit-per-hour Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the British Columbia Chapter for up to 1 MainPro+ Credits.

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It works for you and our health care system

Our ECHO provides a significant opportunity for practitioners to improve their competence in chronic pain care by gaining help with complex cases, receiving support and mentorship, and helping to reduce disparities in the quality of care for rural and underserved areas.

Faculty

The ECHO Hub Team leads the design of ECHO, facilitates sessions, presents instructive lessons and provides personalized recommendations to case presenters. The ECHO Hub Team includes:

  • Dr. Najam Mian, Physiatrist and Pain Specialist
  • Dr. Judy Dercksen, General Practitioner
  • Dr. Michael Butterfield, Addictions Medicine Specialist, Psychiatrist
  • Dr. Karen Ng, Pharmacist
  • Roland Fletcher, Physiotherapist
  • Susan Reid-Schellinck, Occupational Therapist
  • Julie Carlson, Registered Clinical Social Worker
  • Natasha Edney, Psychotherapist