TOWARD A CORE CURRICULUM FOR NURSES ASSISTING ULTRASOUND-GUIDED PAIN PROCEDURES

I. Olivieri, G. Di Giuseppe, C. Angeletti | Anestesia, Rianimazione, Terapia del dolore, Ospedale G. Mazzini, Teramo, Italy

Background. Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia and related pain procedures are increasingly integrated into acute pain pathways, supporting multimodal, opioid-sparing perioperative care. Safe implementation depends not only on operator expertise but also on coordinated nursing support before, during, and after the procedure. Nurses contribute to patient preparation, risk verification, sterile field management, ultrasound equipment setup, physiological monitoring, early recognition of complications, catheter and pump management, patient education, documentation, and continuity of analgesia. However, unlike vascular access programs, where structured competency pathways are already established, nursing competencies for ultrasound-guided pain procedures remain inconsistently defined. We propose an evidence-informed core curriculum for nurses assisting with ultrasound-guided pain procedures in perioperative, intensive care, and emergency settings.
Methods. A PRISMA-ScR-based methodology was developed to map the literature on nursing roles, competency domains, educational models, and assessment strategies related to ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, acute pain services, catheter-based analgesia, and bedside pain-related interventions. Registered nurses, advanced practice nurses, and nurse anesthetists will be included, with scope of practice analyzed separately.
Proposed Framework. Five preliminary competency domains are proposed: clinical safety intelligence; ultrasound contextual literacy; adaptive physiological surveillance; continuity of analgesia and risk mitigation; and non-technical cognitive modulation. These domains may support structured education, simulation-based training, logbook development, and competency assessment.
Conclusion. A dedicated core curriculum may strengthen nursing's contribution to ultrasound-guided pain care by improving role clarity, procedural safety, continuity of analgesia, and interprofessional collaboration. This proposal aims to stimulate collaboration with nursing researchers and scientific societies to develop scoping reviews, conduct Delphi consensus, and validate the curriculum.