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Assessing Effectiveness, Efficacy, and Consistency in Pain Assessment Workflow
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Course
Instructor
Due Date
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Assessing Effectiveness, Efficacy, and Consistency in Pain Assessment Workflow
Statement of the Problem
Pain is a significant and prevalent concern for many patients admitted to various
hospitals, especially in the cancer and surgical units (Kwon, 2014). This experience of pain is
usually attributable to the inadequate assessment and treatment of pain among the affected
patients. Inadequately managed pain triggers behavioral and psychological stress reactions
that impair the normal functioning of an individual due to experiences of emotions of anxiety
and fear, as well as impaired sleep patterns and a reduced quality of life (Kwon, 2014). In
addition, the experience of pain hinders an individual's ability to move and results in reduced
wound healing, leading to a higher risk of complications that lead to extended recovery and
hospitalization as well as an increase in the cost of care, with the management of chronic pain
costing Americans up to 600 billion dollars a year (Gaskin & Richard, 2012). The inadequate
assessment and treatment are associated with reduced abilities and knowledge among
healthcare providers to manage pain, as well as insufficient protocols for the assessment of
pain and inadequate resources and support for its evaluation and treatment. Atkinson et al.
(2019) also note that the adequate management of pain is as well hindered by the
unwillingness of many patients to report their experiences of pain due to the fear of being
labeled as weak or fearing the negative impacts of pain medication. As a result of these
aspects, members of the nursing workforce experience significant challenges in their attempts
to effectively assess and manage pain in clinical settings (Subramanian et al., 2011). The
purpose of this DNP evaluation project is to evaluate the impacts of inadequate pain
evaluation in the surgical, medical, and oncology units on patient outcomes, including overall
health status and care satisfaction. Kyei et al. (2015) note that the effective management of
pain is an essential aspect of the delivery of the highest quality of patient care.
PICO Question
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The developed PICOT question for this evaluation project is: among patients in the
surgical and oncology units, does the implementation of a standardized and systematic pain
evaluation and management procedure compared to usual care result in an improvement in
the effectiveness of pain assessment and management during the hospitalization of patients as
well as the associated care outcomes and satisfaction? The target population (P) in this
question is the surgical and oncology units and the provided intervention (I) entails the
implementation of a standardized and systematic process for the assessment and management
of pain. In addition, the comparison (C) intervention in the question is the absence of the
provision of normal care without a standardized process for the evaluation and management
of pain while the expected (O) is an improvement in the effectiveness of the assessment and
management of pain and the subsequent satisfaction among patients.
Theoretical Framework
Roy Adaptation Model (RAM) will form the basis for this project due to its provided
concepts that help explain how individuals respond and cope with changes within their
external and internal environment (Wang et al., 2020). The employment of this theory in this
project will provide a framework for understanding how patients respond and cope with the
experiences of pain and enable them to manage the environmental stimuli so that they align
with the field of positive coping for individual patients so as to lead to adaptation. According
to Nawai (2019), adaptation entails the positive reaction to stimuli and involves psychosocial
and physiological aspects. enable nurses to identify the various indicators that enable them
gauge the level of pain among individual patients. This will help inform the adoption and
implementation of effective interventions for the management of pain during the delivery of
patient care (Aggleton & Chalmers, 2015).
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The evidence-based practice model that would facilitate the the implementation and
evaluation of the pain management technique is the Pain Management Practice Change
Model (PMPCM). This EBP model indicates that the implementation of change involves
various stages that will include the assessment of pain management approaches that are
currently put in place within a healthcare facility (Lam et al., 2020). This assessment helps
establish the need for change based on the existing weaknesses and gaps as well as the
existing strengths that can be leveraged to support the implementation of change. After that,
the relevant stakeholders collaborate in implementing an established evidence-based pain
management procedure through the surgical and oncology units. The relevant data is then
collected to monitor and assess the effectiveness of the implemented pain procedure to inform
the making of the necessary changes before the appropriate guidelines like policies are put in
place to ensure the long-term maintenance of the implemented procedure (Nawai, 2019). The
Pain Management Practice Change Model will be used to implement and assess the proposed
standardized and systematic pain management procedure in the surgical and cancer units and
assess how the patients perceive the new approach to managing pain and how it affects their
satisfaction. On the other hand, Roy Adaptation Model will establish the specific needs of
individual patients.
Proposed DNP Essentials
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The DNP essentials are the important competencies and curricular competencies that
nurses undergoing training for advanced practice roles through the Doctor of Nursing
Practice degree must be conferred with. The first DNP essential entails the scientific
foundations for the practice of nursing that combines nursing science with psychological,
biophysical, ethical, and organizational sciences to ensure the delivery of the highest level of
nursing practice (Zaccagnini & Pechacek, 2019). It is anticipated that the completion of this
evaluation project will enable one as a nurse to meet this essential by applying scientific
concepts and theories in determining the nature of the delivery of healthcare and the health of
patients, as well as describing the appropriate strategies for enhancing the delivery of care
and health outcomes of patients. In addition, the project will facilitate the critical appraisal of
existing literature and available research evidence to obtain evidence-based practices that can
be implemented to ensure improved care outcomes. The next DNP essential is the systems
and organizational leadership for the improvement of quality and systems thinking among
nurses(Zaccagnini & Pechacek, 2019). The completion of this project will result in one
developing and employing effective leadership skills to improve the quality and delivery of
patient care through fostering effective collaboration between the various stakeholders within
the care facility. The third DNP essential that is anticipated to be met through this project is
medical scholarship and research for evidence-based practice. In the proposed project, this
essential will be developed through the nurses engagement in the conduct of research to
identify the latest research evidence for evidence-based management of pain and translate it
into practice. The other essential that is anticipated through the completion of this project is
the advocacy for healthcare policy that ensures the provision of high-quality health care that
meets the needs of patients (Zaccagnini & Pechacek, 2019). Through the identification of
pain as a significant concern and threat to the desired patient outcomes, nurses would be
expected to advocate for the adoption and implementation of the proposed pain assessment
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and management strategy within the healthcare facility. Another anticipated essential is
interprofessional collaboration for enhancing the health outcomes of patients. Subramanian et
al. (2011) indicate that effective management of pain among patients is a complex process
that requires the input of various healthcare professionals in an interprofessional team, thus
presenting a unique opportunity for engaged nurses to develop the appropriate competencies
in interprofessional collaboration.
Conclusion
The proposed project entails the evaluation of the effectiveness of a standard and
systematic pain assessment procedure in ensuring the effective management of pain among
cancer patients in the oncology unit. Inadequately managed pain is a significant problem in
the delivery of patient care that adversely impacts the recovery of individual patients, leading
to their extended hospitalization and reduced quality of life. This problem is mainly
attributable to the lack of adequate knowledge to effectively manage pain among healthcare
providers as well as reduced support and resources to assess and treat the pain. Improvement
in nurses' education and the provision of structured and clear standards for management can
play an important role in ensuring the effective management of pain.
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References
Aggleton, P., & Chalmers, H. (2015). Roy’s Adaptation Model of Nursing. Macmillan
Education UK, pp. 47–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18450-7_6
Atkinson, J., Kremer, A., Kaiisch, S., & Kremer, E. (2019). Overcome Call Reluctance.
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Gaskin, D. J., & Richard, P. (2012). The economic costs of pain in the United States. The
Journal of Pain, 13(8), 715–724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2012.03.009
Kwon, J. H. (2014). Overcoming barriers in cancer pain management. Journal of Clinical
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Kyei, Adesi, K., Opoku, S. Y., Antwi, William, K., & Engel-Hills, P. P. (2015). The radiation
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Lam, K. H. S., Hung, C.-Y., Chiang, Y.-P., Onishi, K., Su, D. C. J., Clark, T. B., & Reeves,
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Nawai, A. (2019). Chronic pain management among older adults: A scoping review. SAGE
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Zaccagnini, M., & Pechacek, J. M. (2019). Doctor of nursing practice essentials: A new
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