Evaluation of the knowledge and attitudes of a nursing school students on pain management in the postoperative period

Objective: This study was planned to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of students studying at a nursing school about pain management in the postoperative period. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out with 2nd, 3rd, 4th grade students between 30.05.2022 and 03.06.2022. In this descriptive study, the sample group consisted of 306 students aged 18 and over, studying at a nursing school and agreeing to participate in the research. Findings: According to the results of the research, 90.5% of the students' answers to the nurses' knowledge and attitude questionnaire about pain were to the question "After the recommended initial doses of opioid analgesics, additional doses are adjusted according to the patient's individual response" and 92.2% of them are "Who expresses the severity of the patient's pain best?" found to answer the question correctly. 100% of the students stated that "Patients with pain; How much of the pain do you think they reported?" It was determined that he gave the wrong answer to the question. It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between the pain-related knowledge and attitude scores of the students participating in the study, according to whether they were educated in pain-related course or as a subject in the course during their education (p<0.05). It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between the knowledge and attitude scores about pain according to the gender of the students participating in the study (p<0.05). It is seen that female students' pain-related knowledge and attitude questionnaire scores are higher than male students. Conclusion In nursing education, it is recommended to give more space to the subjects that students are inadequate about pain and pain management, and to use different teaching methods. Keywords: Nursing, students, postoperative pain, pain management, knowledge, attitude