International journal of nursing studies
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This paper explores the complex interrelationships between knowledge and decision making as nurses and doctors interacted with each other in a critical care unit, which comprised a combined general intensive care and cardiothoracic surgical unit. The critical ethnographic study upon which this paper is based, involved a research group of six nurses who worked in the unit. ⋯ They were also involved in decision making based on their differential visibility in the process. Nurses' specialised knowledge of the critical care unit played a major role in influencing how they interacted during decision making.
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The aim of this research was to obtain information concerning knowledge of the pain management practices of Tasmanian nurses. We examined the knowledge of Tasmanian Registered Nurses in relation to pain management issues such as addiction, use of analgesics and the assessment of pain. In addition, we queried them about their satisfaction with information they had received about how to manage pain in both workplace programs and in their initial education. ⋯ Nurses specifically lacked up-to-date knowledge concerning the pharmacological management of pain, but displayed a more up-to-date knowledge concerning the effect of patient variables on pain perception. Nurses also rated the information they received about pain management during workplace programs as poor, feeling that they acquired significantly more in-depth information during their initial education. The results of this study have implications for institutions involved in both patient pain management and pain management education.