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Creating organizational change through the Pain Resource Nurse program.
Judith A Paice1, Cynthia Barnard, Julie Creamer
1Cancer Pain Program, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA. j-paice@northwestern.edu
Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
|March 7, 2006
Summary
The Pain Resource Nurse (PRN) program significantly improved healthcare professionals' knowledge and attitudes, leading to better pain management, increased patient satisfaction, and reduced pain prevalence.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Nursing Education
- Pain Management
Background:
- Unrelieved pain is a critical healthcare problem.
- Inadequate education for healthcare professionals is a barrier to effective pain control.
- Traditional quality improvement (QI) educational strategies are often insufficient for practice change.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the Pain Resource Nurse (PRN) program.
- To assess the PRN program's impact on pain management practices and outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Implementation of a comprehensive PRN program involving education, in-services, and unit-based QI initiatives.
- Focus on collaboration between PRNs, managers, and nursing leadership.
- Utilizing a multi-faceted approach to organizational change.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements in participant knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management.
- Demonstrated reductions in patient pain prevalence and improved patient satisfaction.
- Increased patient recall of discussions about pain with healthcare providers (93% vs. 89%).
Conclusions:
- The PRN program is an effective strategy for driving organizational change in pain control.
- Establishing a PRN program requires overcoming management challenges and building shared priorities.
- Nursing management engagement is crucial for the success of organization-wide QI projects like the PRN program.