THE ROLE OF THE NURSE

The Role of the Nurse in Management of Acute Pain

The Role of the Nurse in Management of Acute Pain

Introduction

The early years of a child life are critical and important for the maintenance of lifelong health. Miles has observed that development of childhood is directly linked to emotional, physical, and intellectual health in adulthood. Many issues that are related to a child's health, including nutrition, social environment and the child's community during the first few years of life will have a lifelong impact on the child (Miles 2003: 62).

Discussion

The treatment of pain in everyone's life is a basic human right that exists regardless of age. It is observed that even when a child has severe pain, he or she does not receive frequent treatment, or may receive inadequate treatment to release the severity of pain. Especially, in the case of new born or critically sick child are more vulnerable to no treatment or under-treatment (Galvin et al. 2000: 625). The conventional "wisdom" that children neither respond to, nor remember, traumatic experiences to the same degree that adults do is simply untrue. Recent study on newborn animals has observed that if the newborn has not been provided with the analgesia for pain, it results in 'rewiring' the nerve pathways that are responsible for pain transmission in the spinal cord and results, in increased pain perception for future painful insights. This research has made it evident that if human newborn is failing to get anesthesia or analgesia, then it may result in not only short term physiologic perturbations and behavioral changes in the longer term, particularly during immunization (Meleski 2002: 47).

The Pathophysiology And Other Factors That Influence The Developmental Progress And Health Of Children With Complex Health Needs

The Nurses Role In Assessment Of Acute Pain

It is essential for every human being that an accurate assessment of agonizing pain is done for the development of an effective pain management plan. Nurses play a vital role in the assessment of pain, owing to the nature of their relationship with patients. However, pain assessment and its management is a challenging task due to the subjectivity and multidimensionality of the pain experience (Espezel 2003: 41).

The Pain assessment includes the location and severity of pain, aggravating and alleviating factors, timing and duration, pain relief, and intensity. In addition to that, the effectiveness of any previous pain treatment and its effects on the life should also be assessed and determined (Erikson 1963: 15).

To make sure that the treatment is effective, subsequent pain assessments should be focused on the nature of pain, intensity of pain, and the response to treatment. It should also be made sure that the tools used for the assessment are valid and reliable for the patient population in which they are used (Meleski 2002: 49).

If the child is a newborn, then he or she is small to explain his or her situation of pain, then the assessment of pain in such a situation will be ...