Patients speak out: development of an evidence-based model for managing orthopaedic postoperative pain

Perioperative pain management after total joint replacement continues to be a concern for orthopaedic nurses. In our institution, the results of routine post-hospital stay surveys had shown below average scores in the area of pain management. This began as a quality management issue, became a pain subcommittee issue, and drew in the research nurses to ask what we can learn from this process. Changing the method of handling pain management is not easy, but it makes a difference in patients' hospital experiences. We learned that cooperation and expertise from multiple departments within the institution and some organizations outside the institution is needed to bring about change. We learned that education of not just staff members but also patients on pain management affected the outcome. This article describes our journey to enhance pain management in our institution.