Nurse`s social representation about postoperative visitation in surgical patients

Abstract

Background: acute postoperative pain is defined as the existing pain in a surgical patient, after being submitted to a surgical procedure. In order to reduce or eliminate postoperative pain, it is recommended that it be controlled before, during and after a surgical procedure and that its re-evaluation be an integral part of this procedure. Objective:  to explore the social representation of nurses about postoperative visits to surgical clients with acute pain. Methodology: exploratory qualitative study, guided by the theory of social representations. 73 nurses participated in the study. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire (googledocs) with a Free Word Association Test and data analysis using Iramuteq. Results: anesthesia and surgical nurses, when they think of the postoperative visit, in clients with acute pain, refer to teamwork. These professionals value pain, vigilance, control and pain relief. These professionals value pain, vigilance, control and pain relief. Conclusion: the social representation of nurses during the postoperative visit has the team as their central core, stressing the importance of pain surveillance and control to promote their relief.