An interview with Award-winning pain nursing specialist, Christine M. Rupprecht, MSN, RN

At the beginning of November, I read of Christine M. Rupprecht, MSN, RN, a nursing specialist for the Army’s Regional & Pain Management Initiative at Walter Reed Medical Center. Ms Rupprecht had been awarded the prestigious Celina Field Caregiver Award by the National Pain Foundation (NPF).

When I read about Ms Rupprecht and what the award stands for (recognizing individuals for excellence in caregiving and for their devotion to helping those living with pain), I knew I had to try see if I could interview her. According to the press release issued by the NPF, "The National Pain Foundation is proud to pay tribute to Christine Rupprecht for her groundbreaking achievements in the field of pain management as well as her dedication to, and passion for, providing exemplary care to patients coping with life-altering injuries and the family members who care for them."

 There is also a video that was filmed for the award, which shows you what an amazing person Ms Rupprecht is.

Here is the interview:

As a nurse, what type of background do you have specifically in pain care?

I have 15 years of experience as a pain management nurse.  My career started at Mount Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia.  The Director of Nursing called me into her office and encouraged me to apply for a position with the Anesthesia Department.  Apparently they had been looking for a nurse to work with patients in the pain clinic for six months but no one wanted to work with patients in pain. 

I interviewed, accepted the position and fell in love with the challenging and rewarding field of pain management.  I stayed at Mount Vernon for five years, received my Masters Degree as an Advanced Practice Nurse in Pain Management.  From there I went on to Georgetown University Hospital’s Pain Center and from there to Walter Reed.

What made you interested in pain as a particular area of health care? Was this something that was an original interest or something that grew as you practiced?

As I mentioned above pain management is extremely rewarding.  You can impact your patient’s life because sometimes the patients pain is so severe that their life has become "OBLITERATED" BY THE PAIN".  My interest still continues to grow.  It’s fascinating.

Do you have a particular person you see as a role model or mentor in the field of pain management?

I have been so fortunate to work with wonderful people.  COL Deborah Brown, MD, and COL Buckenmaier MD, the director of our program, whose voices you hear in the video taught me so much and supported through my journey.

Because the majority of your patients have severe limb injuries and/or amputations, is most of the pain you see and manage neurologic?

Pain management is multimodal and multidisciplinary. 92% of patients who have an amputation experience phantom limb pain which is neuropathic in nature and very difficult to treat.

How did you come about creating the Pain Process Improvement Team? What was the basis of the team, who comprises the team and are you looking to improve on it?

I think you are referring to the Pain Management Task Force.  It takes a village to raise a child; it takes a team to treat the pain.  This is an Interdisciplinary group which includes physicians, nurses, pharmacists, chaplains, social workers, nutritionist etc.  I started this group at Mount Vernon and also had one at Georgetown.  It serves as an educational format for the members but also makes pain management very visible in the institution.  Consequently the patients benefit.

What is the basis of the Pain Champions – are they preceptors to new nursing staff? What is the biggest benefit to this program?

The PAIN Resource Nurses or Champions serve as resources to the nurses on the unit and of course act as patient advocates.

As we know, chronic pain affects more than just the patient, but also the family members and friends who feel they’re helpless. Do you work with them as part of the pain program?

Of course, we treat the whole family at Walter Reed.

What is the biggest breakthrough that has come about since you’ve been working in pain management?

Believe it or not it’s that most health care providers now believe the patients’ self report of pain.

Can you think of a specific failure that was thought would be great for pain management but ended up not being very helpful?

No

I’m a former palliative care nurse, so I’ve seen the severe pain that can affect patients at the end-of-life stages. Can you see your program helping people in these situations?

Our chronic pain service is more involved in end of life issues.  Many patients are benefiting from implantable pain pumps, which have greatly improved their pain control and quality of life.  I worked with many of these patients at Georgetown.

How do you feel about alternative therapies, such as acupuncture?

Big Fan. We have had great success using acupuncture to treat phantom limb pain.  I just completed a Reiki class from the department of Integrative medicine at the  University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore.

Although there have been so many people and so many issues, does any one person or situation in particular stay with you?

Max was my first patient at Walter Reed.  I learned so much from him.  He was a paratrooper and thought that was over when he lost his leg but he parachuted in for the opening of the MATC.

Although you work with adults, has your research and hard work been adopted in the pediatric milieu?

Pediatric pain management is a whole different field but good work is being done. At least now they believe that infants do experience pain.

What would you advise if someone has been living with severe chronic pain but they feel that they aren’t being taken seriously or their healthcare team isn’t able to help them effectively?

To find a pain management physician who believes and respects them.

How can a family member help someone who is living with chronic pain that isn’t getting relief, despite trying many types of treatment?

Don’t give up.  Use the Internet to learn about new treatment options.

Where do you see the whole field of pain management headed?

Our population is ageing and we have a whole new population of pain patients in the military it’s just going to keep growing.

Is there anything particular you would like to add for the readers of Help My Hurt? The majority of the readers live with fibromyalgia, migraines, and back pain. Other issues they have run from CRPS, interstitial cystitis, cancer, to fractures and repetitive stress injuries.

Go to organizations like the National Pain Foundation for help. They are doing a fantastic job.

My thanks to Chistine Rupprecht for taking the time to share her story with Help My Hurt. It goes to show that there is some hard work being done in the pain field and maybe, one day, everyone will get they help they need. I also would like to extend my thanks to the Gigail "Gail" Cureton, CTR, Media Relations at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for making this interview possible.

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Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, acute pain, pain specialists, christine rupprecht, walter reed army medical center, amputations, phantom limb pain, celina field caregiver award, national pain foundation, pain management