Pain Management Pillars for the Clinical Nurse Specialist: Summary of National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists Opioid Pain Management Task Force.

Purpose: This article describes the work of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) Opioid/Pain Management Task Force and provides guidance for the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in evidence-based pain management interventions and organizational program development.

Description: In September 2016, the NACNS commissioned a group of pain management experts to identify the resources that CNSs need to address appropriate opioid use and pain management in various practice settings. Challenges faced by CNSs related to opioids and pain management were identified through NACNS Conference forums and a pain management survey of NACNS members.

Current Ketamine Practice: Results of the 2016 American Society of Pain Management Nursing Survey on Ketamine.

Background: Ketamine is increasingly utilized for a variety of pain management challenges. Audience comments from a ketamine presentation at the 2015 American Society of Pain Management Nursing (ASPMN) Conference reflected wide variation in ketamine practices as well as barriers to use.

Aim: The goal was to gain a greater understanding of ASPMN member practice patterns and barriers related to ketamine as adjunctive therapy for pain management.