Pain Resource Nurse Program
The Pain Resource Nurse Program at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center provides effective pain strategies based on best practices in the care of pediatric patients. Specially trained nurses use the latest clinical advances to assess and treat pain across the continuum, from mild, chronic pain to more acute and complex types.
By participating in the Pain Resource Nurse Program, Connecticut Children’s nurses, who are most often at the bedside of young patients in pain, have the ability to not only assess and intervene to relieve a child’s pain, but to transform systems to ensure the highest quality of pain care is always available to our pediatric patients.
A pain resource nurse will:
- Conduct a thorough pain history and assessment for each child
- Develop an individual plan of care in collaboration with the pediatric patient, physician, family and other care providers
- Recommend pain and symptom management options based on best clinical practices
- Collaborate with a child’s physician and all members of the clinical team
- Act as consultant and clinical expert to other clinicians regarding a child’s pain and symptom management
Nurses selected as the pain resource nurse for their unit function as both resources and change agents in disseminating information and collaborating with nurses, physicians, other health care providers, children and families to facilitate quality pain management.
Pediatric patient benefits include:
- Decreased pain and other symptoms that impact quality of life
- Improved relaxation and sleep
- Increased ability to carry out activities of daily living
- Decreased emergency room visits to treat pain
- Increased mobility not limited to pain
The effectiveness of Pain Resource Nurse Programs has been documented over the past 25 years by several institutions across the country, including a number of free-standing children’s hospitals. At Connecticut Children’s, nurses have always been key providers in the successful identification, implementation and evaluation of opportunities to enhance pain prevention, assessment and management.
To learn more about the Pain Resource Nurse Programs at Connecticut Children’s, contact 860.837.5207.