Medical University Students' Attitude and Knowledge of Postoperative Pain in Taiwan

Abstract

Since pain has been described as the fifth vital sign, the importance of adequate pain management became more invaluable. Insufficient pain management may result from insufficient knowledge in pain management and conservative attitude toward pain management of healthcare providers. For improving pain management, it is necessary to determine medical university students attitude and knowledge level before they become healthcare providers. This paper presents findings from a study which investigated the understanding of, and attitudes toward, postoperative pain management among students in China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan. This survey was conducted via questionnaire containing 10 questions abridged from McCaffery and Ferrell's Nurse's Knowledge and Attitudes Survey regarding Pain. All participants in this study were China Medical University (CMU) students. There were 290 valid questionnaires replied and the score referred to the number of correct answers (0 to 10). The average score of all participants was 4.81. Most participants doubted the pain intensity reported by patients themselves and are not aware that pain may or may not influence vital signs and result in sleep disturbance. They did not know the incidence of drug addiction resulting from postoperative narcotic analgesia is low. The students' knowledge level needed to be improved before they become competent clinical healthcare providers.