Acute Post-Operative Pain

“Pain is much more than a physical sensation caused by a specific stimulus. An individual's perception of pain has important affective (emotional), cognitive, behavioral, and sensory components that are shaped by past experience, culture, and situational factors. The nature of the stimulus for pain can be physical, psychological, or a combination of both.” (Potter, Perry, Stockert, Hall, & Peterson, 2014 p. 141) As stated by Potter et al, the different natures of pain are dealt with differently depending on many factors. Knowing this, treating pain can be very difficult as there is no single or clear cut way of measuring it; “Even though the assessment and treatment of pain is a universally important health care issue,

The practice of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been around for approximately four decades now. During this time there have been improvements to the technology and the understanding of how to use this form of patient pain control; however, there continues to be concern related to the safety and efficacy of PCA. As this analysis proceeds it will briefly explain what PCA is and how it is used, then delve into the benefits and the safety issues surrounding PCA use as it pertains to the patient and the nurse. Some of the benefits of PCA include improved pain management, improved use of nursing resources, increased patient satisfaction, and reduced pulmonary issues (Hicks, Sikirica, Nelson, Schein & Cousins, 2008). Some of the safety

Pain is the most commonly reported reason for coming to the hospital in America. It’s causes have a massive variance, and in many chronic cases the root source of pain can not be articulated at all. When a patient reports pain, the role of the nurse, and the whole healthcare staff, is to aim to reduce that pain. In many cases pain reduction can be attained through nonpharmacologic, complementary and alternative methods (CAM). Using CAM to reduce pain is an ideal scenario for both the patient and the healthcare staff as these alternative methods have fewer negative consequential effects.

“Pain is a complex, multidimensional experience that can cause suffering. [While] pain is inevitable, suffering is optional” (Kinder, 2014, p. 114). The control of pain is, as Kinder puts it very complex, without appropriate measures it can be easily side stepped especially in the elderly. To ensure patient center care it is important that all aspect of one’s quality of life is address, this is emphasizing by pain being a component of vital signs. Being a vulnerable population the elderly is often under assessed as they minimized their problems so as not to be a burden in addition to the fact that they may believe that their pain is a normal part of aging.

Pain is different for everyone, because the brain “…[creates] its own selective picture; a picture largely determined by what is important for the survival and reproduction of the species” (Axel 234). In addition, because “[o]ur perceptions are not direct recordings of the world around us, rather, they are constructed internally according to innate rules” (Axel 234), classifying and treating pain for a large group of individuals is problematic. When attempting to address this issue, the question must be presented: is there a particular type of therapy which hospitals can use to reduce pain perception of patients, thus improving (or upholding) their physical

Pain is formally identified as a problem of global proportions by WHO and postoperative pain is one of the most common types of pain that has raised a public health concern by various societies in Australia, USA and Europe. It affects roughly 40% of surgical patients who experiencing a moderate to severe pain. It is important that graduate RNs have the knowledge and clinical skills to care for these patients as management of acute post-op pain has posed a significant challenge in surgical specialities for the past 50 years.

Pain is an obvious consequence of injuries and surgery, but it is also a common symptom of ill health. A complex experience, with many variables that can influence the patient experience and interpretation. The various factors include age, gender, culture influences, social class, personality and emotional factors such as anxiety, fear and depression which do not necessarily increase the patient’s pain experience, but will affect their reaction to it.

Pain is defined as the patient’s described experience to actual or potential tissue damage (Yukari, Noriko, & Okamoto, 2010). It is an issue in the care of any patient, because pain adversely affects the health of the patient. Not only is pain uncomfortable, it causes the release of specific hormones, adrenaline, and other chemicals that make healing difficult, if not impossible. It decreases patient mobility, leading to complications of secondary pneumonia and pressure ulcers (Yukari, Noriko, & Okamoto, 2010). It can have such a severe effect on the body that it may cause a shock like syndrome that can cause death (Yukari, Noriko, & Okamoto, 2010). For all of these reasons, pain management is paramount to any patient care plan.

Pain management in burn unit hospitals continues to be a major challenge for many hospitalized patients of all ages. Patients who are required to be hospitalized are usually ones who have moderate to severe burns that result in traumatic tissue damages. The topic of this research paper will be about pain management in patients with burns. The purpose of this paper is stated in following as a patient intervention comparison and outcome (PICO) format, in patients with severe burns who requires routine dressing changes, how does the combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management compare to using pharmacological pain management alone affect the patient’s overall pain experience?

Pain is the crucial sign that people pursue medical care. Hence, pain assessment and management is essential in the practice of every healthcare provider. The main purpose of pain management is to ease pain and anguish and improve function of patients in their lifetime. Incorporating EBP to a busy hospital setting is challenging for healthcare provider. As I work in a medical-surgical area pain is the most common reason for inpatient admissions; some of them are chronic in nature. The pain that is not controlled has adverse effects on both physiological and psychological condition of the patient. This affects family copying and normal functioning and leads to anger, anxiety and frustration. It is challenging for a nurse to assess a patient

In summary this article was based on a study that focused on inpatient care staff and their knowledge related to pain. A survey was conducted with hospital staff regarding attitudes and experience related to pain care responsibilities. This study showed the staff rated personal lack of education regarding pain management as the main barrier to effective pain management. It also showed that the majority of staff surveyed felt uncomfortable with many aspects of pain management including the use of opioids in the treatment plan. The study went on to discuss how the findings could be used to improve pain management in the hospital setting going forward including staff education.

Significant pain experienced in hospitalized patients can delay the patient’s healing process and increase the risk of developing chronic pain (Slatyer, Williams & Michael, 2015). The primary focus of nursing is to provide quality patient care which includes pain management. Although great strides have been accomplish in the science of pain management, patient often report the experience of moderate to severe pain that was not adequately controlled during their hospital stay (Bernhofer & Sorrell, 2015). Nurses sometimes find it challenging when caring for patients with pain and are unsuccessful in providing optimal relief which may lead to a feeling of moral distress in the nurse (Bernhofer & Sorrell, 2015). Nurses’ ability to understand patient’s pain and provide effective management while, using and effective coping mechanism is a phenomena of great importance.

Medical environments can create anxiety, high levels of anticipation and fear. These emotions will not help the patient during their health crisis. It is the responsibility of the healthcare provider and staff to find ways to alleviate these feeling. The hospital employees must put themselves in the patient’s shoes and attempt to imagine how the patient is feeling. Discovering different approaches to help patients find effect methods of pain control can create challenges. Medication is not always the answer to eliminating pain. Side effects and inadequate relief often occurs when pharmacological relief is sought.

Pain can be debilitating and seeking complimentary approaches to alleviate chronic pain may be helpful. In screening for pain, I believe we should be keen to explore all possibilities including the mental health of the patient to achieve good patient outcome.

The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” (1979). Pain is actually the culprit behind warranting a visit to a physician office for many people (Besson, 1999). Notoriously unpleasant, pain could also pose a threat as both a psychological and economic burden (Phillips, 2006). Sometimes pain does happen without any damage of tissue or any likely diseased state. The reasons for such pain are poorly understood and the term used to describe such type of pain is “psychogenic pain”. Also, the loss of productivity and daily activity due to pain is also significant. Pain engulfs a trillion dollars of GDP for lost work time and disability payments (Melnikova, 2010). Untreated pain not only impacts a person suffering from pain but also impacts their whole family. A person’s quality of life is negatively impacted by pain and it diminishes their ability to concentrate, work, exercise, socialize, perform daily routines, and sleep. All of these negative impacts ultimately lead to much more severe behavioral effects such as depression, aggression, mood alterations, isolation, and loss of self-esteem, which pose a great threat to human society.