PORT JEFFERSON, NY – Marie O’Brien, DNP, ANP-C, Coordinator and Nurse Practitioner for Mather Hospital’s Integrative Pain Management Program, co-authored the cover story for the recent issue of American Nurse magazine on “Optimizing Post Operative Pain Management in Patients with Chronic Pain”.
The article made evidence-based recommendations for both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment options for pain management. It was co-authored by Aaron M. Sebach, PhD, DNP, MBA, director of graduate nursing programs at Wilmington University in Delaware.
“Adequate post operative pain control is essential to ensure optimal physical functioning and mental health, sustain relationships and help patients return to work or regular activity,” the article states. “Poorly managed pain can increase hospital length of stay, increase readmission rates and decrease patient satisfaction.
“Despite improved understanding of pain mechanisms, enhanced awareness of the prevalence of postsurgical pain, and improved pain management approaches, inadequately controlled postoperative pain remains a widespread problem.”
The article notes that the nurse’s role in managing postoperative pain is especially important when the patient has preexisting chronic pain. Among the article’s recommendation are collaborating with the patients to obtain a complete history, including all medications, over-the-counter pain relief agents, herbal supplements, and medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder; refined pain assessment and management skills; and nonpharmacologic intervention options including acupuncture, aromatherapy, biofeedback, guided imagery, hypnosis, massage therapy and mindfulness.
“Patients with chronic pain have a higher risk for uncontrolled perioperative pain, requiring nurses to be knowledgeable about safe and effective multimodal strategies for pain palliation,” the authors wrote. “The collaborative nature of nursing practice lends itself to leveraging the power of interprofessional teams to create an optimal postoperative pain management plan that includes the patient’s voice. Enhance your ability to care for this population by exploring the current literature and adopting patient-centered strategies.”
Mather Hospital has an integrative pain program that offers in-patient modalities such as the ones mentioned in the article for the patient having surgery.
Read the full article in American Nurse magazine.
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About Mather Hospital
Mather Hospital is an accredited 248-bed, non-profit community teaching hospital dedicated to providing a wide spectrum of high-quality healthcare services to Suffolk County residents, showing compassion, respect and treating each patient in the manner we would wish for our loved ones. Mather has twice earned the prestigious Magnet® recognition from the American
Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which recognizes healthcare organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. Mather was rated high performing by U.S. News & World Report hospital rankings in colon cancer, COPD, geriatrics, heart failure, kidney disease, lung cancer surgery, orthopedics, and urology for2021-2022. For further information about Mather Hospital, visit matherhospital.org or follow us @MatherHospital on Facebook.
About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 22 hospitals, 830 outpatient facilities and more than 16,600 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 77,000 employees – 18,900 nurses and 4,900 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We’re training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.