Nursing and Chaplain Partnership for Pain Management: A Survey of Nurses

Pain is a universal experience for hospitalized patients, with physical, psychological, spiritual, and cognitive implications. As hospitals seek to identify nonpharmaceutical options for managing acute pain, the role of chaplains has been overlooked. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of nurses regarding chaplain involvement in pain management.

A survey was distributed to nurses to determine if they would request spiritual care services in various patient and family scenarios. Respondents were dichotomized into two groups based on self-report of whether they would contact a chaplain for patients with uncontrolled pain. Differences between groups were calculated using chi-square tests.

Of 45 nurse respondents, 27 (60%) reported they would not contact a chaplain for patients with uncontrolled pain. Nurses who would consult the chaplain for pain management did not differ from nurses who would not consult the chaplain in terms of their own religious identification, knowledge of patient religious documentation in the medical record, or past experience with chaplain services.

Study findings suggest that nurses' perceptions of chaplain involvement in pain management must be addressed prior to implementing a new hospital pain management protocol.

When developing and implementing new pain protocols based on holistic care of patients, hospitals should ensure that nursing staff are educated on when and how to incorporate chaplains as part of a holistic approach to managing acute pain.