Student nurses' pain knowledge and attitudes towards pain management over the last 20 years: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To discover if nursing students have improved their level of pain knowledge and their attitudes towards pain management over the last 20 years. DESIGN: Systematic review utilising the Kable, Pich, and Maslin-Prothero 12 step approach to document a search strategy. DATA SOURCES: A search was conducted from 2000 to 2020 using CINAHL, PubMed, Embase and ProQuest. REVIEW METHODS: Studies exploring the level of pain management knowledge and attitudes of nursing students were included. The Critical Review Form - Quantitative Studies provided the appraisal framework (Law et al., 1998). A narrative synthesis of eligible studies was undertaken. RESULTS: Six studies with a total of 1454 participants were included. The studies demonstrated that nursing students have not improved their level of pain knowledge and attitudes towards pain management in the last 20 years. Whilst many nursing students thought they possessed adequate pain knowledge, the studies all demonstrated that their pain knowledge is lacking and that they do not have appropriate attitudes towards pain. Students did not recognise the patient who was not grimacing as being in pain despite the patient report of pain. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the notion that nursing education does not include sufficient focus on pain identification and management. Alignment of nursing pain education with the curriculum developed in 1993 by the International Association for the Study of Pain is needed to ensure nurses have appropriate knowledge so that patients can receive effective pain management.

Current practice for genetic counselling by nurses: An integrative review.

AIM: To examine current practice of genetic counselling by nurses. BACKGROUND: Recent debate argues that genetic counselling is a specialist advanced practice role, whilst others argue it is the role of all nurses. Current evidence is required to determine if genetic counselling could be included in all nurses' scope of practice. DESIGN: Integrative literature review. DATA SOURCES: A search of electronic databases (CINHAL, Medline, PubMed, Scopus), and reference lists published between January 2012 and March 2017, was undertaken. REVIEW METHODS: Studies were critically appraised for methodological quality using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. Data from each study were extracted and categorized according to their primary findings. RESULTS: The inclusion criteria were met in 10 studies. Main findings were identified: role of genetic counselling, current knowledge, need for further education, and client satisfaction with nurse genetic counsellors. CONCLUSION: This paper concludes that some nurses do engage in genetic counselling, but how they engage is not consistent, nor is there consensus about what should be the scope of practice. Further investigation into credentialing, role recognition support and education for nurse genetic counselling are strongly recommended. As nurses are widely available, nurses can make a significant contribution to supporting those affected by genetic problems.