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When a child returns home following day case surgery, the parent becomes responsible for the assessment and treatment of their child's pain. Pain is documented as being the most common complication following day case surgery. The study investigated parental management of their child's pain at home following day surgery. A purposive sample of 100 parents of children undergoing day case surgery at a regional paediatric hospital was obtained. Parents were contacted by telephone in their own home 24 hours after day surgery and, through a structured interview schedule, were asked a series of questions relating to their child's pain management and discharge information. The results indicated that parents managed their child's pain in the home if provided with information and suitable analgesia on discharge. Instigation of telephone follow-up for parents was upheld as a measure to provide support to parents, as 79 percent of parents found the telephone call useful.

Pain is an inevitable consequence following day surgery, but with effective regular pain relief minimal discomfort can be achieved. An information leaflet produced by a pain nurse specialist in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team ensures that comprehensible and non-contradictory information is given to parents. With the increased trend towards paediatric day surgery parents are significant contributors to their child's care in the postoperative period. Written information on pain relief after discharge can help parents make decisions about their child's pain management.

AimTo evaluate the impact of a structured pain education programme on pre-registration children's nursing students' knowledge and attitudes of the management of pain in children. MethodOne hundred and twenty seven pre-registration children's nursing students participated in the project. A pre and post intervention design compared student nurses knowledge of pain and pain management in children before and after a pain education programme. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. FindingsStudent nurses' knowledge in relation to the management of pain improved slightly when comparing questionnaire answers before and after the programme for the intervention group.Although, the number of students achieving correct answers in the intervention group was overall better than the control group the percentage of correct answers group was disappointing and for some question less than 50%. ConclusionA bespoke pain management programme has the potential to develop a positive student attitude towards the management of pain in children. However, knowledge of the physiology and pharmacology of pain needs to be revisited throughout the undergraduate nursing programme as students struggle with these concepts.

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