Doctors across Alberta are learning better ways to diagnose and treat chronic pain in their patients.

Chronic pain is difficult to define but surveys estimate more than 300,000 Albertans have the condition, a number that is expected to double in 20 years.

"For the average person, your life can change," said Creighton Madill, who is living with a spinal cord injury. "You wake up the next day and your life is different. It's important to have resources, and not just medications."

But physicians may not know how to treat chronic pain or may lack resources to do so, said Dr. Pamela Barton, co-founder of the Calgary Chronic Pain Centre.

Now Barton and others are travelling across the province to teach doctors how to assess chronically ill patients and give them treatment options.

The first step of the Alberta Ambassador program is raising awareness among doctors and administrators.

The training program will wrap up in the spring.

Officials hope an independent review committee will decide to make the program a permanent training model for health-care professionals.