Serap Özer1, Banu Akyürek2, Zümrüt Başbakkal2

1Ege University School Of Nursing, Medical Nursing Department, İzmir, Turkey
2Ege University School Of Nursing, Peadiatric Nursing Department, İzmir, Turkey

Keywords: Nursing, pain, knowledge, attitude, clinical decision making

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nurses’ ain related knowledge, attitude and clinical decision making skills. Three instruments were used in the study: (1) Nurses’ Introduction Form, (2) The Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Questionnaire and (3) Clinical Decision Making Survey Questionnaire developed by McCaffery and Ferrell was translated into Turkish and used with permission. The results showed that many nurses have inadequate knowledge about pain assessment and management, nurses’ (%47.4) did not observe patient’s behaviors to determine/assess the patient’s intensity of pain and %74.5 of nurses’ did not use pain assessment scales to measure the patient’s pain.