Understanding Pain
€750
Prepare to enhance your understanding of complex pain across the lifespan and advance your management skills to positively impact patient outcomes.
Micro-credential
3 months
Hybrid - Part-time
5 ECTS
04 September 2025
About
Chronic non-cancer pain is a significant public health challenge, with approximately 20% adults living with pain (Rikard et al 2023).
The micro-credential in Understanding Pain from RCSI School of Physiotherapy aims to advance your understanding of contemporary knowledge underpinning multidimensional pain and develop advanced clinical skills of assessment and management, to support critical and evaluative evidence-informed practice with the complex pain patient, within a collaborative model of patient-centred practice.
Through the use of simulated workshops, you'll equip yourself with advanced communication and clinical skills in management of complex pain, including clinical pain sensitivity testing.
Students who successfully complete this course and pass all assessments will receive an academic transcript and certificate detailing the academic award and credits received. The course is delivered part-time over 12 weeks with online material for participants to access in their own time. This is followed by scheduled in-person workshops in RCSI's St Stephen's Green campus.
This course is a Level 9 award on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications.
Advance your clinical reasoning of complex pain presentations
Develop the knowledge and skills required to manage complex pain
Distinguish multidisciplinary roles within collaborative practice
Suitable for
This programme is suitable for physiotherapists, occupational therapists and nurses ideally working with people experiencing pain, who seek to advance their clinical reasoning, knowledge and skills working with people experiencing complex pain, at any stage of their lifespan.
Faculty highlight
Biography
Louise Keating
Louise is a Lecturer at the School of Physiotherapy and a practising clinical specialist in musculoskeletal therapy in private practice for over 20 years. She has received research funding from EuroSpine, IRFU Charitable Trust, HRB and SFI for a range of projects across musculoskeletal and sports physiotherapy.
Find out more
Register your interest
Are you interested in learning more about this programme? Submit your details below and a member of the team will be in touch with you shortly.
Course information
On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the neurophysiology and behavioural science underpinning multidimensional acute or chronic pain experience.
- Explain pain mechanisms and apply IASP clinical criteria and grading system as they apply to the clinic.
- Demonstrate advanced communication skills enabling effective assessment and treatment of patients with pain.
- Clinically evaluate the biopsychosocial impact of pain, in the context of the WHO ICF framework and evidence-based clinical tools; underpinned by advanced clinical reasoning.
- Recognise the lived experience of a patient in pain.
- Explore alternative/contemporary views of pain.
- lllustrate physiotherapy management strategies and distinguish multidisciplinary roles and management strategies within a collaborative model of practice.
This module can be undertaken as a micro-credential, or stacked to build to a higher award – MSc in Advanced Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy.
This programme is delivered part-time through a blend of online content and activities and three in-person classes of four hours duration in in September, October and November.
Access to online material is available from September 2025 with your assignment due in December 2025.
An individual assignment (case study) makes up 80% of the assessement for this programme, a reflective portfolio (contribution, formative) covers the remaining 20%.
We are proud to be a recognised University of the National University of Ireland (NUI).
Recognition by Ministries and bodies in other jurisdictions must be determined by the individual applicants.
Admissions
To be considered for entry into the programme, you must:
- Have a bachelor's/master's degree or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in physiotherapy, occupational therapy orr nursing (first or second-class honours). If you don’t hold a bachelor's degree, please see the recognition of prior learning pathway outlined below.
- CORU or NMBI registration (or equivalent) from overseas regulator
- At least one year post-qualification clinical experience
Each application will be assessed on an individual basis.
English language requirements for Postgraduate programmes are published on the RCSI website.
If you do not have an undergraduate degree at level 7 or above you may still be eligible to apply through recognition of prior learning (RPL). RPL is the assessment of knowledge, skills and competence previously acquired.
Learning occurs in many contexts which include work, involvement in social and community activities, or learning through life experience generally. RPL does not give credit for experience as such; rather it considers the learning that was acquired as a result of the experience.
RPL may be used to gain:
- Admission to courses/programmes where a person may not have obtained the standard entry requirements.
- Exemptions from course modules which duplicate the learning outcomes an individual has already demonstrably acquired through prior learning.
If English is not your first language, you will also need to supply a copy of an academic IELTS examination or equivalent, with an overall score of at least 6.5 and no individual band below 6.5.
Total fees: €750 (needs to be paid on acceptance of the course).
Please note:
- Fee includes all resources and access to our online learning portal.
- RCSI accepts no obligation to refund any fee, or part thereof, in respect of a student who chooses to withdraw from a programme.
- If you choose to withdraw from a programme you are liable for the full fees owed for the seat on that programme.
How to apply
Applications for this course are now open. Please begin your application by completing the form below.
Please ensure you attach the following supporting documents with your application:
- Clear copy of a valid passport.
- Copies of your academic transcripts/degree.
- Copy of your CV.
- English proficiency test (if required).
Already begun your application? Complete it via our application portal now.
Contimue your application