Descriptions of the knowledge and beliefs about pain, pain management, and pain content in curricula of Illinois nursing faculty and last semester A.D.N. and B.S.N. students

Ineffective or inadequate pain management is noted in nursing literature. A recurrent theme is inadequate knowledge of pain and pain management practices. Literature suggests basic nursing education regarding pain is lacking. Previous studies focused on faculty knowledge and beliefs. This study randomly selected Illinois A.D.N. and B.S.N. nursing programs. One-hundred-thirteen generic A.D.N., and 44 generic B.S.N. students participated. Forty-seven A.D.N. and 21 B.S.N. faculty participated. The Nurse's Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (NKAS) and an adapted Survey of Pain Content in Nursing Curriculum were used. NKAS standard scores for each group were within one standard deviation of the total mean score. Reports of hours devoted to pain content and curriculum topics were similar to previous studies. Similarities in results suggest faculty attitudes and beliefs have not changed. Changes in other areas will not occur without attitudinal changes within the faculty. This allows gaps in the practice of effective pain management.