HESIRNCOMPREHENSIVEPREDICTOREXAMAnorientedpatienthasrecentlyhadsurgery.Whichactionisbestforthenursetotaketo assessthispatient’s pain?a.Assessthepatient’sbodylanguage.b.Ask thepatienttoratethelevel ofpain.c.Observethecardiacmonitorforincreasedheartrate.d.Havethepatientdescribetheeffect ofpainontheabilitytocope.ANS:BOne of the most subjective and therefore most useful characteristics forreporting pain is its severity. Therefore, the best way to assess a patient’s painis to ask the patient to rate the pain. Nonverbal communication, such as bodylanguage, is not as effective in assessing pain, especially when the patient isoriented. Heartrate sometimes increases when a patient is in pain, but this isnot a symptom that is specific to pain. Pain sometimes affects a patient’sabilitytocope,butassessingtheeffectofpainoncopingassessesthepatient’sabilitytocope; itdoes notassessthepatient’spain.2.Anurseiscaringforapatientwhorecentlyhadabdominalsurgeryandisexperiencingseverepain.Thepatient’sbloodpressureis110/60mmHg,andheartrateis60beats/min.Additionally,thepatientdoesnotappeartobeinany distress.Whichresponsebythenurse ismosttherapeutic?“Yourvitalsdonotshowthatyouarehavingpain;canyoudescribea.your pain?”b.“OK,Iwillgogetyousomenarcoticpainrelieversimmediately.”c.“What wouldyouliketotrytoalleviateyourpain?”d.“Youdonotlooklikeyouareinpain.”ANS:CBe sure the patient is a partner in making decisions about the best approachesfor managingpain. A patient knows the most about his or her pain and is animportant partner in selecting successful pain therapies. The nurse mustbelieve thatapatientisinpainwheneverthe patientreportsthatheorshe isin205
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