All the nurses were defined as expert as a consequence of
having more than three years postregistration experience in
their respective specialist field. Both groups were seen as
specialist nurses managing pain in the critical or chronic
stage. The results indicated that, although the self-assessment
performance ratings of the hospice nurses were higher than
that of the ICU nurses, both groups demonstrated a reduced
knowledge in specific content areas. The participants in
general were not confident about their knowledge of
analgesia and suggested that their basic nurse education
had failed to prepare them adequately to care for patients in
pain. Fothergill-Bourbonnais and Wilson-Barnett (1992)
concluded that it was the working environment and clinical
work undertaken within the specialist setting that was
perceived by the nurses to be most influential in their
acquisition of knowledge about pain management. Further,
it was suggested that it was the hospice environment that was
perceived to have a greater influence in contributing to the
nurses’ knowledge base