title: Exploring the role of an acute pain specialist nurse in the Royal Navy.
abstract: There is a strong research base to support the value and importance of acute pain management. There have been significant improvements in this specialty in the NHS since the introduction of acute pain teams in the early 1990s. The Armed Forces have embraced the concept more recently, and are making progress in this valuable area. This article examines the role of an acute pain specialist nurse in the Royal Navy and the importance of high quality, evidence-based pain management in the Armed Forces. The value of a military specialist nurse working as an integral part of a large NHS trust and how that relates to an operational role in the Royal Navy is also explored. The article draws conclusions about the importance of retaining senior specialist nurses in the clinical setting in order to ensure that the Armed Forces have access to up-to-date clinical expertise, especially when medical staff are deployed in operational roles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pain Management, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK.
authors.forename: Clair
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haslam
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002983:Clinical Competence; D006801:Humans; D008888:Military Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009326:Naval Medicine; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D006113:United Kingdom