A small dose of comfort

WWatching or hearing a child suffering in pain are difficult situations nurses encounter. Aside from challenging our judgment for professional treatment, a child’s pain also triggers overwhelming emotions of empathy and sympathy. The combination of the two can be difficult to manage. Implementing evidence-based practices and establishing protocols for effective anesthetic emergence and postoperative pain relief can help us more calmly—but no less empathetically—handle children in pain safely and effectively. I had just begun a new position as a clinical director at Magnolia Regional Health Surgery Center, Corinth, MS, and my office was located around the corner from the PACU. I was struck by the crying and struggling of pediatric patients as they emerged from anesthesia in the PACU. It’s every caregiver’s intent to provide stress-free and pain-free care to patients, and judging by the patients’ reactions, it was time for our methods to be reevaluated. An investigation of how to more effectively treat pediatric patients in the PACU was undertaken. Our main objective was to ensure that the children were cooperative for treatment, experienced a quick recovery, and had minimal adverse effects from medications administered.