An unlicensed nursing assistant (NA) reports to the nurse that a postsurgical patient is complaining of pain that she rates as 8 on a 0-to-10 point scale
The NA tells the nurse that he thinks the patient is exaggerating and does not need pain medication. What is the nurse's best response?
A) "Pain often comes and goes with postsurgical patients. Please ask her about pain again in about 30 minutes."
B) "We need to provide pain medications because it is the law, and we must always follow the law."
C) "Unless there is strong evidence to the contrary, we should take the patient's report at face value.'"
D) "It's not unusual for patients to misreport pain to get our attention when we are busy."
Ans: C
Feedback:
A broad definition of pain is "whatever the person says it is, existing whenever the experiencing person says it does." Action should be taken unless there are demonstrable extenuating circumstances. The other answers are incorrect.
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