Strategies used in post-operative pain assessment and their clinical accuracy

Our knowledge about the content of strategies used by staff members in a su rgical recovery unit for assessment of post-operative pain is fairly limite d. The aim of the present study was to describe variations in the content of s trategies used by nurses and physicians in practical clinical pain assessme nts and to evaluate the clinical accuracy of the strategies used. Critical care nurses (n = 30), physicians (n = 30) and postsurgical patient s (n = 180) comprise the respondents. Applying a phenomenographical approach, interview data were tape-recorded d uring 180 clinical pain assessments. The pain assessments were related to c omparative bedside pain ratings (Visual analogue Scale, VAS), both by staff members and post-operative patients. The recorded interviews were analysed to describe variations in ways of assessing pain. Pain assessment strategies were established by combining categories describ ing the impact of experience and categories of assessment criteria. The present observations, if included in the education of clinical staff me mbers, could increase the understanding and thereby the quality of the pain assessment process.