The nurse is checking on the patient after administering pain medication 30 minutes previously. Which assessment finding best indicates to the nurse that the pain medication was effective?
a. The patient is sleeping quietly.
b. The patient states that she has no pain.
c. The patient's respirations are slow and regular.
d. The patient's blood pressure has returned to baseline.
ANS: B
The best way for the nurse to determine that the pain medication was effective is for the patient to state that she has no pain. The other assessment findings cannot definitively determine whether or not the patient is still in pain.
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