Journal of advanced nursing
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This literature review was written as part of a pilot study into staff perceptions of inappropriate attendance at accident and emergency (A&E) departments. The pilot study was carried out in the final year of the BSc Nursing Studies course at Birmingham Polytechnic. ⋯ The review covers quite a span of years, the oldest piece of literature under review dating back to 1849. Some 143 years show that indeed this particular problem is not necessarily a modern one but one that has its origins in another century.
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Accurate pain assessment is vital for good medical care, and yet the literature indicates that nurses often provide inaccurate and biased estimates of their patients' pain. The following paper reviews the methods used to assess nurses' accuracy, and reasons offered for the errors observed. Practical options for improving pain assessment and pain management are discussed.