The nurse in a pain clinic is assessing a palliative patient. The patient indicates that he has been saving his analgesics until the pain is intense because the pain control has been poor

Question

What teaching does the nurse knows should be done with this patient?
A) Medication should be taken when pain levels are low so the pain is easier to reduce.
B) Pain medication can be increased when the pain is intense.
C) It is difficult to control chronic pain, so little can be done.
D) Instruct the patient to lie still and think of something else during intense pain.

Answer 1

Ans: A
Feedback: Better pain control can be achieved with a preventive approach, reducing the amount of time patients are in pain. Low levels of pain are easier to reduce or control than intense levels of pain. Pain medication is used to prevent pain so pain medication is not increased when pain becomes intense. Chronic pain is treatable. Giving the patient alternative methods to control pain is good, but it will not work if the patient is in so much pain that he cannot institute reliable alternative methods.