The common meanings and shared practices of sedation assessment in the context of managing patients with an opioid: A phenomenological study

Aims and objectives To examine the common meanings of opioid‐induced sedation and shared practices in the context of post‐operative pain management in expert Post‐Anesthesia Care Unit nurses during patient's pain management with opioids. Background Within the clinical setting, linear pain and sedation scales are not enough to support clinical judgement with acute pain management. Because sedation measurement rests along a fluctuating continuum, it is possible for a patient to be sedated and then shift to increasing alertness, and then to drift back to a sedated state. This potential for acute clinical transition can be challenging to nurses of all levels, even for expert nurses. Design Interpretive phenomenology. Methods Twenty expert Post‐Anesthetic Care Unit nurses, with more than 7 years of nursing experience, participated in qualitative interviews regarding their lived experiences. Interviews were analysed using a modified seven‐stage process for interpretation by Diekelmann, Allen and Tanner. The manuscript was developed utilising the COREQ guidelines for reporting qualitative studies. Results Four themes identified through the participant's stories were recognising every patient is different, engaging in iterative knowing, walking a fine line, and looking beyond and anticipating. This study identified a constitutive pattern of interpreting sedation by integrating practical understanding and anticipating beyond. Conclusions This study indicates a deeper complexity in the way opioid‐induced sedation is assessed and balanced with pain management by nurses in the Post‐Anesthetic Care Unit. Relevance to practice Nurses in the study adapted their practices around pain management with opioids, in response to their patient's level of sedation; incorporating practices such as giving small, incremental doses and changing the drug. Nurses valued the importance of having “eyeballs on everybody” and being ready to meet the needs of their patient. They appreciate the time to watch and wait for their patient to respond, to better judge the result of their interventions.