Image--the journal of nursing scholarship
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The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of nurses' personal pain experiences on the assessment of their patients' pain. The sample consisted of 134 registered nurses employed in three Midwestern hospitals. In response to a personal pain history questionnaire, pain with headache, menstrual distress and dental events were cited most frequently. ⋯ Responses to the Standard Measure of Inferences of Suffering (Davitz & Davitz, 1981) showed significant differences between intensity of pain experienced by the nurse and overall perceived patient psychological distress. Furthermore, the intensity of pain experienced by the nurse was the only variable that predicted significantly perceptions of patients' physical suffering and psychological distress. While additional study is warranted, the findings support the notion that nurses who have experienced intense pain are more sympathetic to the patient in pain.
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An exploratory study was designed to determine whether data made available by a pulmonary artery catheter or data obtained by nonivasive clinical evaluation were used as a basis for fluid management decisions in stable coronary artery bypass graft patients approximately 18 hours postoperatively and beyond. The sample consisted of 40 fluid management decisions made on 33 patients. ⋯ The study questions the prolonged use of this medical technology with its attendant cost and risk. Nurses' roles in managing technology are highlighted.