"Mellom barken og veden" : nyutdannede sykepleieres vurdering av postoperativ smerte

Abstract

”Between a rock and a hard place”. Newly graduated nurses` assessment of postoperative pain. Despite concerns about postoperative pain assessment and management, research demonstrate that many patients still suffer unnecessarily. Nurses‟ competence and knowledge are keys to successful pain relief. In this qualitative study newly graduated nurses` 1) assessment of patients` post-operative pain, and 2) efforts to increase their personal professional knowledge are explored through two focus group interviews, each with six surgical unit nurses. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to Kvale‟s methodology. Factors such as multidisciplinary collaboration, routines for assessment of pain, environment, and adaptation of practical and theoretical knowledge, impacted greatly on how newly graduated nurses assessed and understood post operative pain. They found it challenging to communicate their perceptions of patients‟ post operative pain to members of the interdisciplinary team, particularly to surgeons. As they found that what they learned during 2 their nurses‟ training was inadequate on a specialized unit, they easily became part of its culture and routines. Greater emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration is necessary. Further shared perception of strategies for pain relief should be developed.