Faculty

Mitchell P. Engle, MD, PhD

Scientific and Medical Consultant
Partner, Institute of Precision Pain Medicine
Corpus Christi, Texas

Kathy Kates, FNP-BC

CEO
Pelvic Health Support
Brookline, Massachusetts

Michael Sprintz, DO, DFASAM

Medical Director, Substance Abuse and Mental Health IOP Programs
The Lovett Behavioral Health Group
Houston, Texas

Amanda Zimmerman, PA-C

West Forsyth Pain Management
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Provided by

Provided by Clinical Care Options, LLC dba Decera Clinical Education

Supporters

This activity is supported by an educational grant from Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Target Audience

This activity is intended for healthcare professionals involved in the management of acute pain, including physicians, nurses, physician associates, and those practicing in gynecology, urology, internal medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine, general surgery, plastic surgery and orthopedic surgery.

Program Learning Goal

The goal of this activity is to improve the knowledge, competence, and performance of learners in effort to optimize treatment for patients with acute moderate to severe pain.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

Summarize unmet needs related to current opioid-based therapeutic approaches for acute pain management
Assess mechanistic underpinnings of pain pathophysiology, including the role of voltage-gated sodium channels NaV1.7, NaV1.8, and NaV1.9 in pain transmission
Evaluate the mechanism of action, pharmacologic profiles, efficacy, and safety of approved and key investigational sodium channel inhibitors for acute moderate-to-severe pain management
Apply evidence-based strategies to optimize management of people with acute pain in a way that minimizes safety concerns while preserving quality of life

Financial Disclosures

Decera Clinical Education requires instructors, planners, managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose all financial conflicts of interest (COI) they may have with ineligible companies. All relevant COI are thoroughly vetted and mitigated according to Decera Clinical Education policy. Decera Clinical Education is committed to providing its learners with high-quality CME/CE activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of an ineligible company.

The faculty reported the following relevant financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they have with ineligible companies related to the content of this educational activity:

Primary Author

Mitchell P. Engle, MD, PhD: consultant/advisor/speaker: Boston Scientific, Nalu Medical; researcher: Boston Scientific, Mesoblast, Nalu Medical, Nevro/Globus Medical, SPR Therapeutics, Saluda, Saol Therapeutics.

Kathy Kates, FNP-BC, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Michael Sprintz, DO, DFASAM: owner: Advanced Genomics Lab; consultant/advisor/speaker: Spark BioMedical, Tafalgie; stock/stock options: Affect Therapeutics, Bridge Therapeutics.

Amanda Zimmerman, PA-C: consultant/advisor/speaker: Vertex.

The planners and content peer reviewers from Decera Clinical Education do not have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Instructions for Credit

Participation in this self-study activity should be completed in approximately 1 hour. To successfully complete this activity and receive credit, participants must follow these steps during the period from October 21, 2026, through October 20, 2027:

Login or Sign Up for an account by clicking at the top of this page.
Read the target audience, learning objectives, and faculty disclosures.
View and study the content in its entirety.
Submit answers to the posttest questions and evaluation questions online.

You must receive a test score of at least 65 and respond to all evaluation questions to receive a certificate. After submitting the evaluation, you may access your online certificate by selecting the certificate link on the confirmation page. Records of all CME/CE activities completed can be found on the "My Certificates" page. There are no costs/fees for this activity.

Format

This program has been made available online.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The planners of this activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Additional Disclosures

Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications and/or dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used for generating transcript(s) from audio/video file. All AI-assisted content underwent human review, editing, and validation by qualified faculty and accredited education staff to ensure scientific accuracy, balance, and compliance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.

Accreditation

Joint Accreditation Statement

In support of improving patient care, Clinical Care Options, LLC dba Decera Clinical Education is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physician Continuing Medical Education

Clinical Care Options, LLC dba Decera Clinical Education designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nursing Continuing Professional Development

The maximum number of hours awarded for this Nursing Continuing Professional Development activity is 1 contact hour.

Physician Associate Continuing Medical Education

Clinical Care Options, LLC dba Decera Clinical Education has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 1 AAPA Category 1 CME credit. Approval is valid until October 20, 2027. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

American Board of Internal Medicine Maintenance of Certification

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1 MOC point in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

For ABIM MOC points, your information will be shared with the ABIM through Decera Clinical Education’s Joint Accreditation Program and Activity Reporting System (JAPARS). Please allow 6-8 weeks for your MOC points to appear on your ABIM records.

By sharing your Diplomate Board ID # and DOB, you are giving Decera Clinical Education permission to use this information/data to report your participation to these Boards via the Joint Accreditation Program and Activity Reporting System (JA-PARS).

IPCE Credit Designation

A logo for a credit companyAI-generated content may be incorrect.

This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 1 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.

CME Passport

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The CME credits that physicians earn from this activity will be submitted to ACCME's CME Passport, a free, centralized web application where you can create a personalized account to view, track, and generate transcripts of your reported CME credit. Visit www.cmepassport.org to create your account.

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