Without appropriate treatment, the prevalence of pain in cancer patients can reach 95%.
This was stated by the specialist Jurgen Oosterbrink on the occasion of the opening of the Master's Degree in Palliative Care Nursing at the University of Navarra.
According to Jurgen Oosterbrink, a specialist in palliative care at the University of Salzburg (Austria), "the prevalence of pain in cancer patients can exceed 95%, given that many patients prefer not to interrupt professionals to communicate their pain". This was confirmed by the expert on the occasion of the opening of the I edition of the Master's Degree in Palliative Care Nursing, given by the School of Nursing of the University of Navarra at partnership with the Hospital Centro de Cuidados Laguna, in Madrid.
The Austrian researcher was in charge of giving the inaugural lecture of postgraduate program, the only official and specific Master's Degree in Palliative Care Nursing, which this year will have 14 students.
During his exhibition, Jurgen Oosterbrink underlined the role of Nursing in dealing with these cases of pain, "where the professional must be proactive, so that the patient brings their symptoms to light. And in order to have this attitude, the advanced training and the development of protocols are essential". For this reason, added the expert, "a well-trained nurse is core topic in pain control".
To this end, the program of the postgraduate program adds to the subjects related to palliative care, the teaching at research, and the Philosophy and the advanced role in Nursing.
The opening of the new course was also attended by Mª Isabel Saracíbar, dean of the School; María Arantzamendi, director of the Master's Degree; and Francisco Bermúdez, director of the Hospital Centro de Cuidados Laguna, who stressed that palliative care units "need some 3,000 nurses to develop their work of specialization". Likewise, the specialist assured that with adequate treatment in Palliative Care "pain can be alleviated and the patient's well-being improved in 100% of cases".