Integrating Complex Pain Concepts Into Prelicensure Nursing Education: An Unfolding Case Study to Enhance Clinical...

Unfolding case studies are an active learning strategy that help students integrate knowledge with practical experience, enhancing clinical judgment and easing their transition into professional practice.

Chronic pain, a complex health issue, is often inadequately addressed in nursing curricula, leaving prelicensure nursing students unprepared to manage pain effectively in clinical practice, contributing to the academic-practice gap.

Using an evidence matrix, faculty interviews, and syllabi analysis across 4 programs, gaps in chronic pain concepts were identified. A 4-term unfolding case study was developed to address these gaps, aligned with the American Association of College of Nursing Essentials and following a patient from acute to chronic pain transition.

By incorporating evidence-based, active learning strategies like an unfolding case study for a complex concept such as chronic pain management scaffolded across a curriculum, nurse educators can better prepare future nurses for practice.