A nurse is caring for a ventilated post-operative patient who might be experiencing pain. Which method of assessing the patient's pain level should the nurse try first?
1. Attempting an analgesic trial
2. Asking the patient if he is in pain
3. Observing the patient's face for grimacing
4. Asking a family member if the patient is in pain
2
Rationale 1: The nurse should not provide an analgesic without assessing for pain first.
Rationale 2: If the patient is responsive, the nurse should ask the patient about presence of pain.
Rationale 3: This could be done if the patient is not responsive.
Rationale 4: This can be done; however, it is not the first method that the nurse would use to assess the patient's pain level.
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