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AUTH Why you should read this article: • To understand patients' experience of post-operative pain • To develop an effective method of assessing patients' post-operative pain • To recognise the nurse's role in the management of post-operative pain While post-operative pain is a common and unavoidable consequence of surgery, evidence suggests that the levels of pain experienced by patients are unnecessarily high. In the past two decades, evidence has also indicated that nurses' knowledge of the assessment and effective management of pain is suboptimal. This article considers the elements required for an effective post-operative pain assessment, as well as examining the barriers that result in many patients' post-operative pain not being assessed. The article also provides an overview of the main pain management interventions available to nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]