A pilot program to evaluate pain assessment skills of hospice nurses

A program was developed to evaluate pain assessment skills of hospice nurses in the home setting, utilizing standardized patients (SPs). Hospice nurses were sent on a routine visit to a "patient's" home to evaluate someone dying of pancreatic cancer. They were not informed in advance that the "patient" was actually an SP, who had undergone intensive training from the staff to prepare him for his role. They performed their usual evaluation and then reported back to the referring physician by telephone. The referring physician, who used a written series of evaluation criteria, graded their assessments. The SP also evaluated the assessment skills of each nurse. After the exercise, the nurses were informed of the "patient's" identity and were provided with the written critique prepared by the SP. A second part of the program included a written examination of their pain assessment and treatment skills, followed by a didactic presentation. This is the first report we know of that has utilized SPs in the home setting to evaluate pain assessment skills in a blind fashion. Our findings indicate that this can be an effective method for measuring pain assessment skills as well as a valuable teaching device.