Pain Management Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice

Assessing and managing pain - the primary symptom for those seeking health care - is imperative in every RN’s daily practice. Pain management nursing takes this further with its specific focus to alleviate pain, improve pain relief, optimize function, and maintain quality of life of patients across the life span and in every practice setting. The premier resource for today’s pain management nurse, this second edition is informed by ongoing advances in nursing, patient care, and the understanding of pain in its many dimensions. It addresses what every RN in this evidence-based practice specialty needs to know, including practice roles, tenets and principles, essential knowledge and skills, ethical considerations, and trends in care, education, public policy, and technology. This second edition’s 17 competency-based standards provide a framework for evaluating practice outcomes and goals and for delineating what is expected of all pain management nurses. Its scope of practice—which establishes the who, what, where, when, why, and how of their practice—is the context for applying these standards. Among the pain management and pain care topics covered are:: Pathophysiology of pain in the context of each patient’s safety, pain perception and response, and biopsychosocial–spiritual needs. How each of the nine provisions of the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements can be applied in practice. Multimodal pain management options to achieve best treatment outcomes. Emerging insights from genetics and genomics into such areas as opioid metabolism and pain perception, and response to opioid analgesics. Networking, partnering and collaborating. Patient care and guidance using data from digital prescription monitoring programs and patient apps. This book is a must-have for practicing or aspiring pain management nurse, and a useful resource for interprofessional practitioners and stakeholders involved in pain care.