Experiences of expert nurses in caring for patients with postoperative pain.

Full Abstract

Despite enormous technologic advances and substantial research in the area of pain management in recent years, numerous studies indicate that postoperative pain is not relieved in most patients. Nurses are the health care professionals who spend the most time with patients in pain. Despite this, there is a lack of research that has sought to understand the experiences of nurses, the professionals most closely tied to this issue. The purpose of this pilot qualitative study was to learn how expert nurses assess, manage, and care for patients with postoperative pain. A phenomenologic mode of inquiry was used to interview three expert nurse participants. Four themes emerged during the data analysis phase: considering the whole person, the independent art of nursing, accepting what the patient says, and commitment to surgical nursing.

Author information

Author/s: Richards, Jennifer (J); Hubbert, Ann O (AO);

Affiliation: University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA. jrichards(-atsign-)renown.org

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses (Pain Manag Nurs), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Mar; vol 8 (issue 1) : pp 17-24

Dates: Created 2007/03/05; Completed 2007/04/26;

PMID: 17336866, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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