Improving nursing adherence to pediatric pain management bundle using the PDSA cycle

Given the current standards, pediatric post-operative pain management can be a distressing outcome to the patient and family. Adequate management of post-op pain in this population is a challenge despite the availability of evidence-based interventions combined to form care bundles. Tonsillectomies are common procedures in the pediatric population and often include moderate to severe pain with ineffective pain relief. Inadequate pain management leads to unplanned admissions, longer post anesthesia care unit (PACU) stays, slower oral intake, and longer recovery periods. In this project, two interventions were tested using the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) model for rapid cycle improvements. The first intervention was to improve the nurse\u27s knowledge of the pain management bundle. The second intervention was the modification of workflows to enhance the delivery of education to the patient and family. The objectives of this project were to increase nursing knowledge on evidence-based pain management bundles, reduce post-operative provider encounters for pain related complaints, improve the implementation of evidence-based practice pain management bundles, and standardize successful practice interventions