Journal of Pain & Relief
Open Access

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: Pain is one of the most common experienced symptoms reported by more than 80% of postoperative patients. Approximately 77-98% of post-operative patients report pain following their procedure with 40-80% having moderate to severe pain. Pain is shown to elevate stress levels manifesting in increased heart rates, blood pressures, and oxygen demand. Inadequate pain control can develop into surgical complications causing surgical failure, blood clots, pneumonia, and chronic pain. Complementary and alternative medicine such as music can be used in combination with opioid medication to help improve pain control leading to successful surgical outcomes. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to determine if implementing therapeutic music into the post-operative recovery process improves reported pain scores in adult spinal patients. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: A one-group pretest-posttest comparison design was performed to help streamline an evidence-base protocol on an inpatient postoperative surgical unit. The evidence-based medicine and transpersonal caring models were used to create and implement a therapeutic music protocol by critically analyzing current literature. Findings: Data was collected using weekly chart audits retrieved from the paragon electronic medical record (EMR) system. Conclusion & Significance: The data will be analyzed using an independent t-test to determine the effectiveness of this therapeutic music protocol. Implications for practice will be discussed.

Biography

Michael Poulsen graduated from Valparaiso University achieving a Baccalaureate degree in the science of nursing in 2014. He is currently enrolled in Valparaiso University to earn a DNP in 2017. He currently works as a night charge nurse on a medical and surgical unit at Unity Hospital. He also has been instructing undergraduate clinical experiences at Valparaiso University for the last two years. Michael is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). He is interested in using alternative therapies to help reduce pain and psychological distress following his experience working in a multidisciplinary pain clinic. His interest in alternative therapies led to his DNP project writing a protocol for using therapeutic music to help reduce postoperative pain on an inpatient hospital unit. In December 2016, Michael published his first nursing article entitled “Alleviating Stress with Music” in the ISNA featured magazine Nursing Focus Magazine.