Susan J Hagan | PubMed Health

PubMed2005

Training pain resource nurses: changes in their knowledge and attitudes.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To determine the changes in knowledge and attitudes of pain resource nurses (PRNs) as a result of an intensive pain management course. DESIGN: Pre- and post-test design. SETTING: A Veterans Administration hospital in the southeastern United States. SAMPLE: 18 RNs from multiple units where care is provided for veterans with cancer. METHODS: The PRNs were tested before and after a 32-hour intensive pain management course. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Knowledge about pain management, attitudes toward pain management, and attitudes toward patients in pain. FINDINGS: Significant improvements were found in pain knowledge and attitudes toward patients in pain. Improvements in attitudes toward pain management approached significance. CONCLUSIONS: The improvements in scores not only supported the effectiveness of the course but also provided additional evidence of the validity of the assessment instruments. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Courses such as this should be offered in other settings to encourage practicing nurses to provide better care to patients in pain and to serve as role models for their peers.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Pain resource nurses: believing the patients, and believing in themselves.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe the experience of being a pain resource nurse (PRN), discuss the influence of the PRN's role on colleagues and patient care, and explore barriers to the PRN role. DESIGN: Qualitative, exploratory. SETTING: A Veterans Administration hospital in the southeastern United States. SAMPLE: 12 nurses who received advanced training in pain assessment and management attended focus groups approximately one year after assuming the PRN role. METHODS: Two focus group sessions, each with four to eight nurses. Each nurse was asked to describe her experience. Interviews were transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using Spradley's domain analysis for discovering processes and themes from the transcribed data. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: The experience of being a PRN, the influence of the PRN on staff and patients, and barriers to the role and pain management. FINDINGS: The key processes that described the PRN experience were Believing the Patients (i.e., an awareness that nurses must have to effectively manage patients' pain) and Believing in Themselves (i.e., the PRNs gained authority as experts in pain management, accepted the responsibility of being champions in pain management, and gave themselves permission to make patients comfortable). CONCLUSIONS: The pain-training course the PRNs received enabled them to practice as confident, credible, and empowered professionals. The awareness that they acquired during the course and the year of practice allowed the PRNs to be patient advocates, role models, and educators. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: The findings of this study indicate a high level of nurse satisfaction with the PRN role. Nurses with an interest and specialized knowledge in pain assessment and management at the unit level may greatly improve patient outcomes.

Adult↗