Pain control after surgery: a survey of current practice.

A questionnaire was sent to 302 qualified nurses in an attempt to elicit their current practice of administering postoperative analgesics, knowledge of the drugs, opinions regarding prescribing habits and comments on how pain control could be improved; 211 nurses replied (70% response). Knowledge was good but practice poor in that 56% give less than six doses postoperatively and the majority of nurses do not give analgesics until the patient is in pain; 66% thought the amount of analgesic given was a poor indication of pain experienced; 62% felt that prescribing by doctors was inconsistent and 90% thought it could be improved. Deficiencies in communication between anaesthetists, nurses and patients were highlighted. The nurses wished for more involvement in pain management and for more education of patients preoperatively. A selection of comments is included and possible simple methods for improving pain control are discussed.