WHAT DO NURSES KNOW AND BELIEVE ABOUT PATIENTS WITH PAIN - RESULTS OFA HOSPITAL SURVEY

Nurses in every area of clinical practice are confronted with the chal lenge of caring for patients in pain. The purpose of this study was to determine nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding pain in the acute and long-term care settings of a large Canadian teaching hospital. Th is paper reports the results of a pain survey completed by 514 nurses using the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey (Ferrell and Leek, 19 90). The mean percent score was 41. Nurses with a university education scored significantly higher (P < 0.0001) than those nurses who were n ot university prepared. Nurses who had attended educational sessions o n pain management within the last year also scored significantly highe r (P < 0.0001) than those who had not attended Results indicated that nurses lacked knowledge and understanding of basic pain management pri nciples, opioid usage, and acute and chronic pain. These results suppo rted the value of advanced educational preparation and continuing educ ation sessions for nurses and the need and direction for pain manageme nt programs at this hospital.