The nurse is performing a problem-focused assessment when the client reports pain in his left shoulder. Which of the following nursing questions has priority when determining the nature of the pain?

Question

1. "What makes the pain worse?"
2. "When did you first notice the pain?"
3. "What do you do to lessen the pain?"
4. "Can you rate your pain using the pain scale that we've discussed?"

Answer 1

ANS: 4
Once you complete the assessment, you thoroughly analyze the extent and nature of the client's problem so you are able to later develop a care plan. Identifying the degree of pain the client is experiencing has priority over the other options. While this option is an appropriate pain assess-ment question, it is more directed towards identifying contributing factors than the characteris-tics (nature) of the pain. While this option is an appropriate pain assessment question regarding the nature of the pain, it does not have priority over the degree of pain because that represents an issue that requires immediate intervention. While this option is an appropriate pain assessment question, it is more directed towards identifying effective self-treatment rather than the charac-teristics (nature) of the pain.