NSGR - Beyond Pain Scores: A Practical Playbook for Pediatric Pain, Function and Resilience
At the end of this presentation, participants should be able to:
- Recognize common pediatric pain patterns relevant to neurology care, including headache, chronic pain, spasticity-related pain, and procedure-associated pain, using a function-focused rather than score-focused framework.
- Select practical opioid-sparing, multimodal pain strategies that combine non-opioid medications, physical and rehabilitative approaches, psychological support, child life interventions, and family-centered coping plans.
- Use pain education as a therapeutic intervention by incorporating developmentally appropriate language, anticipatory guidance, and family-facing tools such as the Meg Foundation to reduce fear, improve coping, and support resilience.
About the presenter:
Ahmar Husain, MD
Section Vice Chief, Anesthesia
Section Vice Chief, Pain Medicine
Medical Director, Safety and Quality, Division of Anesthesiology
Medical Director, Liver Transplant Anesthesiology
Phoenix Children’s
Ahmar Husain, MD, is the Anesthesia Section Vice Chief and Medical Director of Liver Transplant Anesthesiology at Phoenix Children's.
He was drawn to Phoenix Children's because of its unique practice environment. Phoenix Children's is one of the few major children's hospitals in the country where families are guaranteed a specially trained pediatric anesthesiologist with their child in the operating room throughout their entire case.
Dr. Husain earned his medical degree from St. George's University School of Medicine in Grenada. He completed a surgical residency at Saint Barnabas Hospital in New Jersey followed by an anesthesiology residency at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in Texas. He then completed a pediatric anesthesiology fellowship at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.
In addition to earning his pediatric anesthesiology board certification through the American Board of Anesthesiology, Dr. Husain is also affiliated with the American Society of Anesthesiology, Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine, and the Arizona Medical Association.
In his practice, Dr. Husain enjoys blending science with empathy to offer the level of care he would want for his own family. He appreciates the opportunity to give back to the community through his work.