Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Antwerp Karel de Grote University College will launch Flanders’ first postgraduate program in pain management in September 2026, led by Julie De Bock, developed with MATA and the Belgian Pain Society.
As VRT News reported, Karel de Grote University College in Antwerp will start a new postgraduate course in specialised pain management next academic year. It is the first program in Flanders that focuses fully on training nurses and other healthcare workers in this field.
Program coordinator Julie De Bock says that pain is covered in basic nursing studies, but only in a limited way. He mentioned that the new postgraduate program will go much deeper and give professionals the knowledge they need to deal with pain as a complex problem that involves more than only medical factors.
“Pain is a very complex concept. Students learn about it in the Bachelor’s program in Nursing, but it remains limited.”
Training Coordinator Julie De Bock
What will KdG’s 2026 Postgraduate in pain management mean for healthcare in Flanders?
Officials mentioned that the new course will teach students about the science of pain, methods to assess it and different treatment options. Both medicine-based and non-medical approaches will be included, as well as care for children, older patients and people in palliative treatment.
The new postgraduate course in pain management is built around 4 modules. The program offers a multidisciplinary view on pain and is open to nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists and other healthcare workers. Each module is designed to link theory with practice. The university says the setup allows professionals from different fields to learn together and to improve cooperation in patient care.
“We see that pain often requires a multidisciplinary approach, so it is important to offer training to different types of healthcare providers,”
De Bock explains.
The course will start in September 2026. Karel de Grote University College developed the program together with MATA, the Multidisciplinary Algological Teams Antwerp. MATA is part of the Belgian Pain Society and includes pain nurses from nearly all hospitals in the province of Antwerp.
“In addition, a scientific committee of experts monitors quality, so that the training continues to meet the highest standards,”
Adds the coordinator.
Chronic pain has been a major health concern in Belgium and Europe for many years, with research showing that about 1 in 5 adults suffer from long-term pain that affects daily life and work. In 2019, the Belgian government increased its support for multidisciplinary pain centres, but experts continued to stress the need for more specialised training.
The Belgian Pain Society, founded in 1974, has promoted education and cooperation on this issue for decades. In 2000, MATA, the Multidisciplinary Algological Teams Antwerp, was created to bring together pain nurses and improve care in hospitals across the province.
