December 3, 1999

When Kristin Beauparlant, RN, signed up for the "Pain Champion" seminar, she knew she was going to discuss pain management with her fellow nurses. She had no idea, however, that soon she would have a profound effect on a patient's care at the MGH.

"I came onto my shift the day after the seminar to find a cancer patient in constant pain," says Beauparlant, a gynecologic oncology nurse on Bigelow 7. "Her pain was being treated with a PCA – a button that patients can push whenever pain medication is needed – which wasn't working well for her. I decided to consult her doctor about trying a basal delivery of medication, which is a constant flow of medication delivered intravenously." Beauparlant says that within one hour of changing the patient's medication, she was comfortable and pain-free.

"It was amazing to see her go through such a quick change, and she was so grateful too." Although basal delivery of medication is not for all patients, it happened to work well for this particular patient. Beauparlant attributes her actions to the confidence she gained from the Pain Champion seminar.

"The seminar gave us a great opportunity to discuss examples of cases in small groups, which was helpful in raising my awareness of the support available at the MGH. It also made me realize that we need to work more collaboratively with the doctors. As nurses, we have the most constant contact with the patients, therefore, we also are responsible for assessing their pain. By working as a team with the doctors, we can best keep patients pain-free," says Beauparlant.

The MGH Cares About Pain Relief initiative offered MGH nurses the Pain Champion seminar in October to help participants feel more empowered about their role in managing the pain of MGH patients. "We didn't focus too much on knowledge, because nurses at the MGH have a foundation of information about pain management," says Heather Young, RN, project manager of the MGH Cares About Pain Relief initiative. "Rather, we wanted the nurses who attended the seminar to discuss and analyze the barriers to effective pain management at the MGH. The seminar gave them a forum for sharing their ideas and helped them to become advocates for pain management for their individual floors.

"We're very pleased with the results of the seminar, and Kristin is proof that talking about pain management is half the battle," says Young. Tests administered to participants before and after the seminar showed improvement in every area of questioning. Young also feels that periodic follow-up with the attendees will be the best way to keep the information from the seminar fresh in the minds of every "pain champion."

The MGH Cares about Pain Relief initiative hopes to offer the seminar again in the spring of 2000 to MGH nurses and then to all clinicians in the fall. For more information about the MGH Cares About Pain initiative, call Young at 4-9193.

Young, left, and J. Andrew Billings, MD, director of the MGH Palliative Care Service and co-director of the MGH Cares about Pain Relief, are proud to be pain relief champions.