Impact of Nurse Education in PACU on Opioid Minimization Compliance in Bariatric Surgery Patients

Background: Opioids have significant side effects, especially for bariatric surgery patients, yet are still frequently administered in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). Multimodal analgesics effectively relieve pain, minimize opioid consumption, and decrease postoperative complications for this patient population. Purpose: This DNP project aims to educate PACU nurses on the benefits of multimodal analgesia, the harmful impact opioids have on bariatric patients and assess barriers to opioid minimization compliance for this patient population in PACU. Methods: Thirty-four PACU nurses from a 439-bed private hospital in North Carolina were recruited to participate in an education session discussing the adverse effects of opioids and opioid alternatives. A pre- and post-survey adapted from the Clinical Pain Knowledge Test by Dr. Bernhofer were sent to participants. Barriers to opioid minimization were assessed in the post-survey through qualitative data responses. SPSS and StataSE statistical packages were used to analyze quantitative data. Results: Twenty-four nurses participated in the education session. Seventeen participants responded to the presurvey, and nine responded to the post-survey. Fisher's exact test was used to analyze individual survey questions for knowledge improvement. Data analysis showed no statistical significance. However, all showed improvement in the percentage of correct answers from pre- to post-survey. Recommendations and conclusion: Continued education on opioid alternatives and the harmful effects opioids have on bariatric patients would be helpful to promote and sustain practice change. Development of pre-op and post-op analgesic medication guidelines would improve consistency in limiting opioid administration. Barriers identified by PACU nurses provide a basis for future quality improvement projects