An analysis of the variability of breakthrough pain intensity in patients with cancer.

Background: The management of breakthrough pain in patients with cancer (BTPc) generally includes an initial titration of breakthrough pain medication to an effective dose, followed by the use of that dose in all subsequent episodes. This strategy presumes that an individual patient has a degree of consistency of pain during repeat episodes; however, that presumption has not been formally assessed.

Objective: To examine the variation in pain intensity of BTPc episodes within individual patients and across patients.

A teaching project for training family residents regarding the services of hospital chaplains.

In doing a curriculum evaluation for Behavioral Science training of Family Medicine Residents, it was determined that the knowledge of the work of the chaplains in inpatient care was somewhat limited. The Behavioral Science Educator initiated a collaborative project with the Department of Pastoral Care in order to facilitate an increased awareness of the chaplains' services, since the chaplains are part of the patient treatment team. This article is a description and evaluation of that project.