The impact of interprofessional collaboration on nurses’ satisfaction and comfort with intranasal fentanyl

BackgroundHealthcare providers’ beliefs and comfort with analgesics can impact medication decisions. Interprofessional educational interventions (IPE) improve medication delivery processes ultimately resulting in better patient care. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact on nurses’ satisfaction and comfort with administering intranasal fentanyl for pediatric pain management in the Emergency Department (ED) before and following IPE.MethodsA protocol for administering intranasal fentanyl for children age 1–15 years with acute pain was introduced to the ED Nursing staff by an educational session conducted by a clinical pharmacist. Nurses’ level of satisfaction and comfort was surveyed prior to and following IPE. Compliance with patient monitoring was determined by chart review.ResultsEighty percentage of the nurses were very satisfied with the analgesic effect of intranasal fentanyl but barriers for its use included personal comfort, nurse monitoring time and age appropriateness. Most nurses felt comfortable administering intranasal fentanyl but showed increased comfort with intravenous morphine (83% versus 98%, p < 0.05). Benefits cited by nurses included having a pharmacist available in the ED to assist in the delivery of intranasal fentanyl.ConclusionThe use of IPE facilitated knowledge sharing to improve nurses’ comfort with administering analgesic medication and the quality of patient care services.