Pain
An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild to intense
What is pain
Includes medication, physical therapy, and application of heat/cold.
What is the treatment for pain?
Facial expressions, crying, redness to site of pain, and sweating.
What are non-verbal signs of pain?
Before administering pain medication the nurse must first
What is use the appropriate pain rating scale for the client?
A client is suffering from osteoarthritis in the knees. The nurse is assessing the client's pain level and pain tolerance. Based on the nurse's understanding of pain, the nurse knows that a client's pain tolerance is most likely increased by which of the following?
Boredom
Introversion
Sleep
Anger
What is sleep?
Sharp, sudden pain
What is acute pain?
Types of medication such as aspirin, tylenol, and ibuprofen that can be effective for relieving mild pain.
What are over-the-counter medications?
Pain that travels from one area to another.
What is radiating pain?
The nurse understands that for an immediate postoperative patient, their first nursing intervention is to
What is administer prescribed pain medication?
A nurse is caring for an unconscious patient who is recovering from a head injury. When charting pain level, which assessment methods are appropriate in this situation? Select all that apply.
A. Numerical pain scale.
B. Descriptive pain scale.
C. Nonverbal indicators of pain.
D. Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale.
E. Behavioral pain scale.
What are C and E?
Pain that lasts beyond the expected time frame
What is chronic pain?
Pain medications that have a side effect of grogginess or dizziness.
What are narcotics?
A tool or guide that helps a nurse translate a person's rating of their pain.
What is a pain scale?
The nurse monitors for this life threatening side effect for the patient receiving opioid medications
What is respiratory depression?
A patient who has bone cancer has a prescription for hydromorphone (Dilaudid) that is available in large doses. He tells the nurse that he is afraid of becoming addicted. Which response is most appropriate?
A. It is rare for patients with cancer to become addicted when taken as prescribed.
B. I will tell the provider that you do not want the medication.
C. If you take the minimal amount, you shouldn't have a problem.
D. You cannot become addicted because you have cancer.
What is A?
The point at which a person becomes aware of pain
What is pain threshold?
Pain that occurs before the next regularly scheduled dose of pain medication.
What is break-through pain?
The patient's rating of the magnitude of pain.
What is the intensity of pain?
After administering pain medication, the nurse understands that this must be done within one hour.
What is reassess pain and medication effectiveness?
The nurse is caring for a day 1 post-operative patient after a right lower lobe thoracotomy. The patient states that she is in terrible pain. Which is the most appropriate response?
A. How bad is it?
B. What is your pain level on a scale of 1-10? 0 is no pain and 10 is worst pain possible.
C. I will set up guided imagery for you right away.
D. I will use the Wong-Baker faces scale to figure out which pain medication to give you.
What is B?
The level of pain that a person can endure before taking action to seek pain relief.
What is pain tolerance?
Application of heat and cold can help relieve this type of pain.
What is musculoskeletal pain?
The nurse must monitor for _________ when the patient is taking NSAIDS.
What is kidney function or stomach upset?
Name two examples of independent nursing interventions for a client experiencing acute pain.
What is visualization, listen to music, meditation, turn down the lights, take meds before pain becomes severe, provide privacy, breathing techniques.
A 50-year old patient is recovering from abdominal surgery. He complains of pain that is continuously rated a 6 out of 10 despite the intervention of morphine Q4H PRN. Which implication must the nurse consider when controlling this patient's pain?
A. Whether the patient is allergic to morphine.
B. Whether the patient is experiencing an increased respiratory rate because of the medication.
C. Whether the patient is becoming addicted to the medication.
D. Whether the patient would respond to a different type of medication.
What is D?