The role of the outpatient clinic nurse in monitoring opioid therapy.

Outpatient clinical nurses specialize in patient care in a particular area of nursing practice. Typically, the registered nurse also holds a professional certification in that specialty or subspecialty. The only nursing certification related to pain and symptom management is the Hospice and Palliative Care certification. Managing the patient with chronic pain is a common clinical challenge, especially when opioid therapy is indicated. Chronic pain often is undertreated in patients with cancer and in those with non-malignant conditions. Because chronic pain can be complex, successful long-term treatment is more difficult for providers. Professional nurses are the primary team members who assess, coordinate, direct, and evaluate patient care needs during times of illness. A nurse is one of the first contacts in the health care system that the patient encounters. Nurses must possess unique qualifications and be able to deal compassionately with a demanding and sometimes hostile group of patients. How the patients are accepted into a pain medicine practice and managed is discussed in this article.