Pain Management
The Nursing Department at UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Children’s Hospital strives for excellence in pain management for our patients across the continuum of care. Our goals are to reduce or eliminate pain and improve patient well-being, physical function and independence through a multidisciplinary approach. Nurses play an essential role in assessing pain, planning care, and implementing strategies to relieve pain and provide comfort. To that end, we provide our nurses with a wealth of resources to support them in providing excellent pain management, including:
- Continuing education classes offered through Nursing Education
- A bedside clinician-based Pain Resource Nurse Program for both the adult and pediatric settings
- A Clinical Nurse Specialist dedicated specifically to pain management (link to info about Stephanie Gilbertson-White)
- Support from advanced practice nurses in multiple specialties (link to Advanced Practice Nurses)
- Participation in knowledge development through research with international experts in pain management and nursing care:
- Christine Miaskowski, RN, PhD, FAAN
- Kathleen A. Puntillo, RN, DNS, FAAN
Not only is pain management excellence the goal of the Department of Nursing, but it is also an area of considerable clinical and research expertise in the larger campus community.
- The Acute Pain Service is a physician service through the Department of Anesthesia available for formal consultation on all inpatients at UCSF Medical Center. The service provides 24-hour coverage for acute pain emergencies including patients being treated with certain analgesic techniques, such as epidural or peripheral nerve infusions.
- Complementary care at the Osher Center
- UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion Pain Management Center
- Challenges of Managing Pain Symposium (ChaMPS)/Pain Grand Rounds
- Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Palliative Care Services
- Child Life Services