Abstract
Background: While the nursing profession has made great strides in pain management over the last 20 years, patients often report being under-assessed and undertreated for pain.
Purpose: The study purpose was to understand the lived experiences of practicing nurses who had completed a baccalaureate-level pain management course during their undergraduate training. The study aims included understanding how pain management skills were implemented in the clinical arena, determining barriers to implementing pain management skills, and identifying opportunities to improve the patient experience regarding pain management.
Design: The researchers implemented a qualitative methodology with a phenomenological design. Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews.
Methods: The sampling approach included convenience sampling until data saturation was achieved. The final sample included eight registered nurses practicing bedside nursing in the US. Data analysis was completed via a thematic approach.
Results: Two main themes were discovered. The first was enhanced confidence related to skills in communication and collaboration. The second theme was the barrier to proper pain management practice called “the working reality.”
Conclusion: The participants’ lived experiences suggested that the pain management elective helped prepare them for clinical practice. Other schools of nursing may find a course of this nature to be valuable for the future practice of other nursing students. Furthermore, nursing administrators should consider opportunities to expand nurse graduates’ knowledge of pain science to enhance patient care and outcomes. However, more work needs to be done to address the barriers to pain management present in the working reality of nursing practice.
First Page
12
Last Page
29
Recommended Citation
Bee, Rachel and Goodrich, Cynthia
(2024)
"Nurse Graduates’ Experiences With Pain Science – A Qualitative Study,"
Wisdom & Compassion: The LUSON Journal: Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/wctlj/vol2/iss1/6
