Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, BETHESDA, MD –
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center recently hosted a Pain Care Skills training and Substance Use Disorder Care event in Washington, DC. For the first time they merged two traditionally separate annual events with the intent to gather international experts and military professionals with a shared goal: improving pain management for service members, veterans and war-impacted civilians.
Effective pain care is directly tied to readiness, recovery and quality of life—not only for active-duty service members preparing to return to duty, but also for veterans and civilian patients who look to Walter Reed for presidential-level care.
This year’s training brought together military and civilian providers from across the country, with both in-person and virtual sessions designed to improve how providers treat pain and prevent substance use disorder.
By integrating substance use disorder and pain treatment, Walter Reed is modeling a new standard of care that not only serves military beneficiaries but also influences best practices across health systems.
“We’re really leading the Military Health System—and even the civilian communities—in integrating care for both substance use disorder and pain,” said Dr. Christopher Spevak, director of the National Capital Region’s (NCR) Opioid Safey Program and the deputy director of the NCR’s Pain Initiative and Wounded Warrior Pain Care Initiative. “By bringing these groups together, it becomes a force multiplier in terms of taking care of patients.”
The symposium combined nine virtual meetings and 24 in-person workshops, creating a blended model of education that brought together internationally recognized experts and hands-on training. Online sessions included topics such as Dopamine Nation and the Pleasure-Pain Balance by Dr. Anna Lembke of Stanford, An Overview of the Management of Benzodiazepine Use Disorder by Dr. Logan Adam, and Artificial Technology in Pain Medicine: Transforming Assessment and Treatment Through Technology. In-Person workshops provided practical skills in therapists ranging from battlefield acupuncture and medical hypnosis to musculoskeletal ultrasound, art therapy, dry needling and cupping.
“This blended format allows us to reach a wide audience while ensuring providers gain practical, skills-based training,” said Spevak. “It’s something that isn’t being modeled anywhere else.”
This year also featured the International Pain Working Group, which brought together military physicians from partner nations including Germany, France, Georgia, and Australia. The group aims to share best practices, collaborate on research and improve pain care for service members worldwide.
Lt. Col Alex Kumar, the U.K.’s defense medical services lead for pain managements, stressed the importance of empathy in caring for services members.
“It’s about empathy, it’s about communication,” said Kumar. “Especially for the military population — these people have put their lives at risk. So, it is our duty to give them the best possible care we can.”
The training also showcased lessons from the battlefield. Dr. Marshall Bedder, a former Navy commander described his deployment experience. “In Kandahar in 2014, all battlefield injuries were treated by medics with nasal ketamine, and we had amazing success with that,” said Bedder. “This ability to use a nasal mister is so simple.”
By blending clinical research, real-world lessons, and hands-on skills, this year’s Pain Care Skills Training reinforced Walter Reed’s Leadership in advancing pain care across military health system and beyond.
Walter Reed’s Pain Management team continues to deliver world-class care that supports the readiness of our force and he health of our community. For more information about Walter Reed’s Pain Management Clinic talk to your primary care provider.