Integrating people living with pain into pre-licensure pain education: a novel learning activity for health professional students

To explore the experiences of physiotherapy students and people living with pain regarding their participation in a novel partnered learning activity. A concurrent mixed method design integrating quantitative and open-ended survey questions with focus group discussions was used. The activity included a one-on-one interaction between physiotherapy students and people living with chronic pain to explore the multidimensional impact of pain. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analyzed using a qualitative description approach. Twenty-five students and 42 people living with pain consented to participate. For students, three overarching themes were identified: (1) the activity was perceived as a transformative learning experience; (2) first-hand interactions, the learning tools, and the environment contributed to learning; and (3) some challenges fostered learning, while others impeded it. For people living with pain, three themes emerged: (1) translating lived experience into an empowering contribution; (2) the complex role of compensation; and (3) engagement driven by purpose and trust. The partnered learning activity served as a transformative learning experience for students and empowered people living with pain through meaningful contributions of their lived experience. Future research should explore the impact of partnered activities on student learning outcomes. Health professions education programs often struggle to prepare students for effective pain management, and partnering with people living with pain offers a promising strategy to address this gap.The findings from this study show that the partnered education activity served as a transformative learning experience for physiotherapy students, helping them gain first-hand insights into the lived experience of chronic pain and the importance of patient-centered care.The findings also indicate that engaging people living with pain as educational partners not only empowers them and validates their experiences, but also offers therapeutic benefits, highlighting the mutual value of such initiatives.This study shows that sustainable and inclusive partnered health professions education initiatives require attention to fair compensation, trust-building, transparency, and flexible activity design. Health professions education programs often struggle to prepare students for effective pain management, and partnering with people living with pain offers a promising strategy to address this gap. The findings from this study show that the partnered education activity served as a transformative learning experience for physiotherapy students, helping them gain first-hand insights into the lived experience of chronic pain and the importance of patient-centered care. The findings also indicate that engaging people living with pain as educational partners not only empowers them and validates their experiences, but also offers therapeutic benefits, highlighting the mutual value of such initiatives. This study shows that sustainable and inclusive partnered health professions education initiatives require attention to fair compensation, trust-building, transparency, and flexible activity design.