Immaculata University
Pediatric Pain Management
Pain is a subjective phenomenon. Young children are often not able to properly express their levels of pain, which has become a growing problem for pediatric units across the nation. Pain management is an obstacle nurses come face to face with on a daily basis. Managing pain of patients who have the ability to verbalize what they are feeling can be easier to treat then those who cannot. Providing effective pain management for children is widely recognized as a complicated and challenging aspect of nursing. In their study, Relationship Between Knowledge, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy of Nurses In the Management of Pediatric Pain, Stanley and Pollard (2013) …show more content…
Additional information the authors could have explored is the pediatric pain assessment scale participants used. This would have given the authors a better understanding of the knowledge pediatric nurses had in regards to assessing pediatric pain. The author states, “Patients have a right to receive adequate pain assessment and management, and it is important for hospitals to be aware of their nurses’ abilities to perform these tasks” (Stanley, Pollard, 2013, p. 169). Adding this research to the study would have increased knowledge of the nurse’s strengths and weaknesses in assessing and treating pediatric …show more content…
Nurses are on their own in the patient’s home required to not only assess a child’s pain, but treat it properly with limited resources. New graduates are getting hired for home care positions without being properly trained. For example, home care companies in South Jersey are training new nurses for a total of three hours, then allowing them to begin their first shift alone. Stanley and Pollard state that knowledge comes from experience, and new nurses can gain that experience by following seasoned nurses. Without allowing suitable amount of training, organizations are placing their patients at risk of experiencing untreated pain. Home care nurses may neglect signs and symptoms of pediatric pain due to lack of education and training, as well as lack of resources in the home. It is imperative for companies to reevaluate their training process to insure nurses have the ability to properly assess and treat pediatric pain. “A qualitative study of 21 nurses concluded that a barrier to pain management is a lack of education about pain assessment” (Stanley, Pollard, 2013, p. 166). Helping to prove the point that proper training and education in all fields of nursing will lead to better management of pediatric