Training nursing students in evidence-based nonpharmacological pain management techniques

Pain is a common and potentially debilitating condition. Whereas there is vast literature on developmentally appropriate behavioral techniques for pain management, results of curriculum evaluations and knowledge surveys reveal a dearth of awareness of these strategies in healthcare professionals. This study evaluated the effects of a brief didactic training program for student nurses in developmentally appropriate behavioral pain management strategies for children. Results indicated that students who received the training program had significantly more knowledge of behavioral strategies following the training program than they had evidenced before the program. Further, these participants evidenced higher knowledge following the training program than did participants in the control group. There was a non-significant effect of the training on attitude toward behavioral strategies. Comparisons of students\u27 ability to implement behavioral pain management were also conducted. Results revealed that students who received training used a higher ratio of behavioral to non-behavioral strategies and implemented these strategies in a higher quality manner than students who did not receive training. Taken together, these results suggest that a brief training program in behavioral pain management can improve knowledge of behavioral pain management strategies and can improve nursing students\u27 ability to implement these strategies