Revisiting the Pain Resource Nurse Role in Sustaining Evidence ‐Based Practice Changes for Pain Assessment and Management

AbstractBackgroundEffective pain management is unlikely to occur without consistent and timely assessments. To improve assessment and management of pain, ward ‐based pain resource nurses were introduced in 2007 to facilitate hospital‐wide evidence‐based practice changes using three key targets. One‐year post implementation of this quality improvement project, promising results were revealed.AimsThe purpose of this study, 8  years post implementation, was to (a) evaluate sustained practice improvements in pain assessment and management, (b) assess current pain resource nurse knowledge and attitudes to pain, (c) explore characteristics of the pain resource nurse role, as well as (d) any perceived contextual changes re garding study findings.MethodsA mixed ‐methods approach was used to address study aims. Quantitative data were collected from documentation audits and a “Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain.” Qualitative interviews explored the characteristics of the pain resource nurse role, and a focus group discussion explored the con text of change.ResultsSignificant improvements were observed for the documentation of pain scores on admission and for each nursing shift. Survey results highlighted potential knowledge deficits in key practice areas, even though interview findings suggested that pain resource nurses provided a resource for peers, raised awareness of best practice, and imparted knowledge to other ward staff. An important facilitator for t...

Source: Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing - October 9, 2018 Category: Nursing Authors: Emily Allen, Anne Williams, David Jennings, Norman Stomski, Roger Goucke, Christine Toye, Susan Slatyer, Trish Clarke, Kylie McCullough Tags: Original Article Source Type: research