Nursing staff satisfaction with the acute pain service in a surgical ward setting

Over the last 20 years significant advances in the management of pain have been made. Specifically, establishment during the 1990s of Acute Pain Services (APS) within hospitals both nationally and internationally resulted in improved awareness and management of pain. However there has been little research into staff satisfaction with the service, and no studies have been undertaken at a local hospital level. Nurses play a major role in the assessment and treatment of acute pain; therefore it is useful to determine the level of their satisfaction following introduction of APS. The purpose of the present study was to explore, by means of a survey, the level of nursing staff satisfaction with the APS in a large hospital in New Zealand (NZ). Questionnaires, predominantly quantitative in form, were distributed to 58 nursing staff who worked alongside the APS. Thirty six (62%) responded. The findings showed that while, overall, respondents were very satisfied, or satisfied with the APS, responses to open-ended section of the questionnaire brought to light areas that the researchers see as warranting further attention.