Patient-Controlled Analgesia vs Nurse-Controlled Analgesia in the Management of Postoperative Pain - Coursework Example

Surgery produces tissue damage, and it causes local and systemic noxious stimuli that initiate painful stimuli, nociceptive relays, and reflexes throughout the nervous system. Basic medical science has advanced to the extent that postoperative analgesia is now a part of the practice of the nurses in the surgical wards. Acute Pain Services in the hospitals, increasing use of epidural analgesia, and introduction of patient-controlled analgesia have gone a long way beyond the traditional practice of administration of analgesia or opioid pain-relieving medications to the patients depending on professional guesswork about the intensity of pain actually suffered by the postoperative patient (Wall, 1999, p. 1-8).

It is well recognized that pain is associated with disturbances originating from these nociceptive impulses and their conscious interpretation by the patients. In association with that, there are autonomic effects generated that may disrupt healing and recovery processes. Acute postoperative pain is deleterious in the sense that it may compromise spontaneous breathing by muscle splinting, leading to decreased vital capacity. This is just one example of the effects of pain, and from the perspective of the enormous effects that postsurgical pain may produce on the individual; the incapacitating pain must be treated effectively to restore physiology. Pain assessment and management are critical skills of a surgical nurse (Brookoff, 2000, p. 42-59).

In elective surgery, some degree of pain is invariable, and in acute situations, the surgical patient is often admitted in pain. Unfortunately, many studies indicate that the nurses’ knowledge of postoperative pain management is inadequate. Adequate and satisfactory management of postoperative pain is important in the sense that it is an important factor influencing the patients’ perceptions of their progress and recovery. Apart from the humanitarian aspect of alleviation of distress, it is accepted that effective postoperative pain relief is fundamental to good quality patient care and is considered to be a legitimate therapeutic goal (Bonica, 1990, p. 461-480).