Managing Pain With Patient-Controlled Analgesia

I am simply amazed by the innovation of such a useful pain management measure in our surgical department, the use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). Proper pain management is one important goal in nursing. Pain has been given a great emphasis nowadays. The use of patient-controlled analgesia is widely used to alleviate pain and suffering. It has the capability to deliver exact amount of pain medication and a specific indicated time for pain management. The great advantage is that the patient himself is the one controlling the administration of pain medication. It gives the patient an independence in alleviating his own suffering.  Ensuring that PCA machines are properly working and correctly programmed for the right patient is very important. Nurses must collaborate to counter check before starting PCA administration. Patient safety is a prime importance. PCA machines are commonly used in our department for controlling pain of our post operative patients. It is vital for us nurses to make sure that hospital policies and procedures  in starting patient controlled analgesia are properly followed to enhance patient safety.