Evaluating a Medical Directive for Nurse-Initiated Analgesia in the Emergency Department

Acute pain is the most common primary complaint seen in the emergency department (ED).1,2 Unfortunately, pain is often poorly treated in the ED.2 –7 In particular, patients expect to receive analgesics more rapidly than routinely occurs. A survey of ED patients revealed they expected to receive analgesics within 30 minutes of their arrival.5 Although triage nurses routinely assess patients’ pain, medications are usually not provided prior to being ordered by a physician, which leads to significant delays in analgesia.
Source: International Emergency Nursing - Category: Nursing Authors: Source Type: research