Joint Commission journal on quality and patient safety / Joint Commission Resources
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Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf · Jan 2006
Creating organizational change through the Pain Resource Nurse program.
Unrelieved pain remains a critical problem in health care. Barriers to improving the state of pain control include lack of education of health care professionals. Traditional quality improvement (QI) strategies directed toward educational interventions are rarely sufficient to change pain-related practice. PAIN RESOURCE NURSE (PRN) PROGRAM: The PRN program consists of a two-day course, quarterly in-services, regular newsletters, a listserv, individual meetings with PRNs and their managers to plan and conduct quality initiatives appropriate to their unit, as well as an optional clinical experience. ⋯ The PRN program is an effective strategy in creating organizational change to improve the state of pain control.
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Recommendations address reduction of risk of harm from neuromuscular blocking agents, hihg-alert drugs for which misuse can lead to catastrophic injuries or death.