Experiences of Expert Nurses in Caring for Patients with Postoperative Pain

Despite enormous technologic advances and substantial research in the area of pain management in recent years, numerous studies indicate that postoperative pain is not relieved in most patients. Nurses are the health care professionals who spend the most time with patients in pain. Despite this, there is a lack of research that has sought to understand the experiences of nurses, the professionals most closely tied to this issue. The purpose of this pilot qualitative study was to learn how expert nurses assess, manage, and care for patients with postoperative pain. A phenomenologic mode of inquiry was used to interview three expert nurse participants. Four themes emerged during the data analysis phase: considering the whole person, the independent art of nursing, accepting what the patient says, and commitment to surgical nursing.