COGNITIVE-PROCESSES NURSES AND DOCTORS USE IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRN (AT NEED) ANALGESIC DRUGS

The report is a descriptive, comparative study of the cognitive proces ses used by doctors and nurses when deciding whether or not to adminis ter pm drugs to postoperative cancer patients. Simulations, together w ith the think aloud technique to provide verbal protocols was the meth od chosen. The theoretical framework chosen for the analysis was the i nformation processing theory. Five doctors and 5 nurses, each with at least 5 years of working experience were interviewed. The interviews w ere transcribed so that a content analysis could be performed. The mai n findings were the following doctors and nurses generated hypotheses early in the interview; the only statistically significant difference between the two groups was the wider use of theory and/or experience a s a source of information by doctors. Although differences are not sta tistically significant, nurses appear to collect more information on a nd from the patient and more information on vital signs and symptoms o ther than pain than the doctors. Differences derived from analysis of the statements expressed by the subjects suggested that nurses pay mor e attention to the patient's psychological problems and that, while do ctors' main concern was to make the right diagnosis, the nurses' main concern were patients' reactions and collaboration.