The nurse knows that which technique is best for assessing pain in a child who is 4 years of age?
a. Ask the parents if they think their child is in pain.
b. Use the FACES scale.
c. Ask the child to rate the level of pain on a 0 to 10 pain scale.
d. Check to see what previous nurses have charted.
ANS: B
Assessing pain intensity in children requires special techniques. Young children often have difficulty expressing their pain. The FACES scale assesses pain in children who are verbal. Because a 4-year-old is verbal, this is an appropriate scale to use with this child. Parents' statement of pain is not an effective way to assess pain in children because children's statements are the most important. The 0 to 10 pain scale is too difficult for a 4-year-old child to understand. Previous documentation by nurses will tell you what the child's pain has been but will not tell you the child's current pain intensity.
You might also like to view...
The belief of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato that the rational soul controlled the irrational soul could be compared with the belief of the more recent psychological theorist:
a. Freud b. Pinel c. Fisher d. Rush
Which statement made by a nurse represents incorrect information regarding the pain experience or pain management in older adult clients?
A. "Cognitively impaired older clients should be assessed more frequently for pain than older clients who are not cognitively impaired." B. "Older clients are more likely to have adverse reactions to pain medications, es-pecially opioids, than younger adults." C. "Older clients usually have had more experience with pain than younger clients." D. "Older clients have a different pain mechanism and do not feel it as much."
A client is complaining of irritability, difficulty with memory, constant fatigue, and an inability to fall asleep
The client averages 3 hours of sleep each night, has been following a restricted calorie evening meal as part of a weight loss plan, and exercises every evening. Instead of food, the client drinks no-calorie caffeinated sodas. What should the nurse suggest to this client? 1. Eating a larger meal later in the evening will facilitate better sleep and relieve the symptoms. 2. An MRI might be necessary to determine the factors causing the symptoms. 3. Dieting is a common cause for difficulty sleeping. 4. Changes in hormones due to exercising late in the evening and late intake of caffeine might be disrupting the NREM sleep phase, causing the stated symptoms.
The patient was told she has carcinoma in situ, and the student nurse wonders what that is. How should the nurse explain this to the student nurse?
a. evasion of the immune system by cancer cells b. lesion with histologic features of cancer except invasion c. capable of causing cellular alterations assocaited with cancer d. tumor cell surface antigens that stimulate an immune response