Patient satisfaction with pain management practices of nurses

The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) has developed guidelines for postoperative pain management. Pain management enables patients to achieve greater mobility, decreases postoperative complications, enhances recovery and may decrease hospital stays. Purposes of this study are to examine differences in nurses' pain management practices following an educational program based on the AHCPR Guideline, and to examine differences in patient satisfaction with pain management before and after an educational program for nurses. The organizing framework of this study is based on the AHCPR Guidelines.The sample will be drawn from three mid-sized hospitals in the Daytona Beach area. A convenience sample of 30 registered nurses from three postoperative surgical units and 60 postoperative patients who had orthopedic surgery in the past 24 hours from the same surgical units will be invited to participate. Approval will be obtained from the hospitals. The comparative descriptive study will be explained to participants and informed consent will be obtained from each individual who agrees to participate. All identities will be confidential and data collected will remain anonymous. No risks have been identified. The questionnaire to measure pain management practices of the nurses will be the Toronto Pain Management Inventory. The American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire (APS-POQ) will be used for patients' perceptions of pain. An educational program will be conducted for nurses based on the AHCPR Guidelines. A t-test will be used to compare the pre and post test scores of the two unmatched patient groups. There will be descriptive analysis of the pain management practice of nurses. This study is significant because the result will provide information about pain management practices of nurses that may improve patient perception of satisfaction with pain management.