A nurse works on a postoperative care unit and sees many patients who have orthopedic surgery. One patient complains of significantly more pain than the other postoperative patients usually do. What action by the nurse is best?
a. Explain to the patient that so much pain is not reasonable.
b. Ask the patient to rate and describe the pain.
c. Give the patient pain medications as prescribed.
d. Call the provider and request an extra dose of pain medication.
ANS: B
Pain is a subjective experience and patients' pain experiences will not all be the same. The nurse needs to assess the patient's pain further. After assessing the patient's pain, if it is time for a dose of pain medication, the nurse should administer it. If the nurse's clinical judgment indicates an additional dose of medication is warranted, the provider can be contacted. The nurse should not dismiss the patient's pain by telling him/her that it is unreasonable.
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