Postoperative Pain Management

Introduction Pain is a complex experience that may affect ones physical, mental and social health. For many people, it is a major problem that causes suffering and reduces their quality of life (Lewis, 2016). Many people seek medical help because of pain, and effective pain relief is a basic human right (Lewis, 2016). Pain is a common complication after a surgery and pain management is important for a successful recovery. Many studies are being done on postoperative pain management and what the most effective treatments are. Traditional pharmacological pain management at times may not suffice or pose certain side effects for clients. I decided to look into other methods of pain management for postoperative patients, specifically aromatherapy.

This knowledge is useful for nursing practice because it opens up opportunity for new effective treatments for reducing pain. By applying the theoretical knowledge from the study and practical knowledge from clinical practice, the nurse’s way of knowing is informed. As someone working in healthcare, it is important to be able to have an openness to change and be actively looking for evidence informed practice. For instance, health care and nursing practice has greatly changed in 100-200 years. In a video by James McCormack of UBC, he describes the final days of King Charles II. He tells a story of how the King fell ill and the doctors at the time used a variety of interventions, that at the time, they believed to be accurate. They administered emergency “aid” by giving the king enemas, draining large amounts of blood, shaving his scalp, giving potions made from human skull and draining more blood. The king seemed to get better, so they drained more blood and continued the interventions because they thought it was working. The king ended up dying because he blead to death. Thinking back to a time like this feels unrealistic and a fictional story. But these medical treatments were considered to be the right thing at the time. The way these treatments changed over these hundreds of years, is through evidence informed practice. By generating questions and conducting research, we build on new evidence, to be able to improve our practice. Reviewing this literature has ignited a spirit of inquiry, for further research and evidence. The results of the study showed that aromatherapy was effective in reducing patients post-operative pain and also decreasing the inflammatory process. Patients VAS scale was lower with the aromatherapy, as well as their blood pressure. These results have an impact on nursing