• Jin Hee Jang, Won Hee Park, Hyo-In Kim, and Sung Ok Chang.
• Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
• Pain Manag Nurs. 2020 Aug 1; 21 (4): 379-385.

BackgroundPostoperative pain is a major concern of patients undergoing surgery. Pain assessment for patients undergoing surgery is a common requirement for surgical nurses and is the most important nursing approach to ensuring patient comfort.AimsThe purpose of this study was to identify the reasoning used by nurses when assessing postoperative pain in patients.MethodsPhenomenography was the research approach chosen to analyze the nurses' experiences. This approach is used to acquire qualitative knowledge about the ways individuals experience the world.ResultsThe reasoning used by nurses in postoperative pain assessment was identified from two perspectives: the frames of reference used to interpret a patient's perception of pain and the strategic efforts used to assess the pain. An outcome space for the various categories of reasoning employed by the nurses with regard to postoperative pain assessment was constructed to determine how these categories were logically related.ConclusionsThese findings have the potential to lead to a diverse range of nursing education modalities related to the adoption of different focuses and actions in postoperative pain assessment.Copyright © 2019 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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