Publications

APS Bulletin • Volume 9, Number 5, September/October 1999

Special Interest Groups

David A. Williams, PhD, Department Editor

Nursing Issues SIG: An Update

Margo McCaffery, MS RN FAAN, Chair

Information about the Nursing Issues Special Interest Group

The Nursing Issues Special Interest Group (SIG) was formally established shortly after the 1997 APS Annual Scientific Meeting, and Rosellen Lanning, BSN RN OCN, was elected chair for the 1997-1998 inaugural term. The following year, at the Nursing Issues SIG’s 1998 meeting, a variety of basic science concepts that required follow-up and prioritization were discussed.

This year, I am serving as chair, and Ada Jacox, PhD RN, is the APS board liaison. The Nursing Issues SIG’s main project for 1999 has been to develop an electronic mailing list. The electronic mailing list is now operational, thanks to the efforts of Jan Frandsen, MSN CRNP, who worked on its development with APS Associate Director Cynthia Porter. APS members who also are members of the Nursing Issues SIG can be added to the electronic mailing list by contacting the APSoffice at info@ampainsoc.org.

The Nursing Issues SIG continues to develop. Much work is required to identify the nursing issues and focus of this group. One outstanding issue involves the need for APS’s nurse members to obtain practical guidance in applying research findings to the bedside. In most clinical settings, nurses spend more time with patients with pain than do other health-team members, and they are responsible for the direct care of patients. At the APS Scientific Meeting in October and by means of the electronic mailing list, the Nursing Issues SIG will set its priorities and explore with other APS members the feasibility of projects proposed during and following last year’s meeting. Prospective projects to explore include the following:

  1. Developing a mission statement or objectives
  2. Forming a voice mail system through the contribution of an interested company
  3. Assisting members who are interested in submitting abstracts or posters for the APS meeting
  4. Developing scientific program- podium presentations, as suggested by Judith Paice, PhD RN, for inclusion at the annual scientific meeting
  5. Organizing defined and reproducible educational opportunities for nurses under the auspices of APS, as suggested by Russell Portenoy, MD. These educational ventures could be self-sustaining or revenue generating (e.g., a 1-day symposium jointly sponsored by APS and the American Society of Pain Management Nurses or the Nursing Pain Association). The educational projects could be modeled after those currently being developed for family physicians.
  6. Including a presentation at the APS Annual Scientific Meeting on basic science terminology and the nature of research methodology for nurses
  7. Recruiting nurses to APS
  8. Adding a Nursing Issues SIG page to the APS Web site
  9. Offering financial assistance to nurses to attend the APS Annual Scientific Meeting

The Nursing Issues SIG will meet 3:30-5 pm on Thursday, October 21, 1999, during the APS Annual Scientific Meeting. The tentative agenda includes the following items:

  • Discuss possible SIG activities and set priorities
  • Elect new chair
  • Tentative speakers: Christine Miaskowski, PhD RN, and Judith Paice, PhD RN
  • Tentative topic: interpretation of research on acute and chronic pain using animal models

Margo McCaffery is a consultant for the nursing care of patients with pain in Los Angeles.

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