The College of Nursing at the University of Baghdad held a defense of the doctoral dissertation by researcher Jamil Youssef Khalaf, titled “The Lived Experience of Iraqi Nurses in Pain Management Following Heart Surgery: A Phenomenological Study,” under the supervision of Professor Sirwan Jafar Baqi.
The study primarily aimed to explore the lived experience of Iraqi nurses in pain management following heart surgery, and to identify the educational and organizational challenges affecting their clinical practices, using a descriptive phenomenological approach through in-depth interviews with 25 nurses from five specialized cardiac surgery centers in Iraq.
The study’s results and conclusions highlighted three main themes: nurses’ reliance on continuous assessment and the combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, along with a clear gap between clinical awareness and institutional support resulting from a lack of specialized training, increasing workloads, and shortages of staff and resources. Consequently, improving pain management depends on a comprehensive approach that enhances staff competence and provides a supportive work environment grounded in scientific evidence.
Based on the research findings, the study recommended the formulation and adoption of standardized national protocols for pain management grounded in scientific evidence, the launch of ongoing training and professional development programs for nurses, as well as the strengthening of communication mechanisms among members of the medical team and the improvement of the institutional work environment to achieve integrated, patient-centered nursing care.
Following an extensive scientific discussion, the researcher’s efforts culminated in the thesis being awarded a grade of “excellent.”
The findings of this study align with the Sustainable Development Goals that the College of Nursing at the University of Baghdad seeks to promote, particularly Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and Goal 4 (Quality Education), through the development of specialized nursing competencies and the improvement of the quality of healthcare services and treatment policies in Iraqi medical institutions.
