Focus issue: innovations in pain management: guest editorial.

Abstract

DURING THE 25 years that I have specialized in pain management, I have met countless nurses and physicians who are passionate about improving the way pain is assessed and managed. I am always struck by the fact that these passionate individuals represent literally every nursing and medical specialty. Whether it is expressed through research or direct patient care, nurses and physicians of every specialty are concerned about the issues surrounding the safety and effectiveness of pain management. This underscores the commonly expressed sentiments that pain is the inescapable universal experience and the most common patient condition the health care team addresses. This focus issue of the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing is entitled ‘‘Innovations in Pain Management’’ because it contains eight diverse articles that demonstrate the creative interdisciplinary approaches health care team members everywhere are taking to improve the way pain is assessed and managed.