It will come to pass in every nurse’s career that she will be caring for a person that for whatever reason cannot communicate verbally. The reason can be vast such as dementia or language barriers. One of the biggest challenges this creates is assessing the patient’s pain level. In 2001 a system was developed by a group of critical care nurses that has been widely accepted in many healthcare systems in the US and Canada. The Adult Nonverbal Pain Scale is an assessment tool that uses five specific categories in pain assessment. However, the accuracy of this system is a matter of debate between healthcare providers and patient representatives. In this paper I will examine and compare the various methods of pain assessment used by healthcare personnel today.
Pain affects everyone; it sends thousands of people to hospitals, clinics and private care providers daily. A primitive warning system, pain is an unpleasant but important function for survival. In the physiological sense pain is the uncomfortable sensation felt by the sensory nerves (Taber’s). Pain can be described in a number of ways such as burning, aching or crushing. When assessing pain in her patient, a nurses first measure would be a question; “are you having pain”? No one will dispute the fact that this is the most reliable method of assessment, because pain is exclusively subjective in nature. Most schools teach that ‘pain is present when the patient says it is’.
However, while everyone experiences pain, no two people experience pain alike. Other factors influence a person’s perception of pain. Outside influence is often a consideration when a parent or family members are overly concerned they can instigate a response to pain. A post operative patient i...
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Each person will respond differently to the pain experience. Therefore, the individual’s attitudes, personal experiences and knowledge are also antecedents to the concept of pain. For instance, a person that has been exposed to severe pain knows the
...d Vogus, 2014). However, Kennedy (2015) points out that, in reality, with measuring perceptions, as long as the patient believes the healthcare provider is having compassion and doing as much as they could for the pain, the patient will report well on the survey.
Pain is not always curable but effects the life of millions of people. This essay examines the Essence of Care 2010: Benchmarks for the Prevention and Management of Pain (DH, 2010). Particularly reflecting on a practical working knowledge of its implementation and its relevance to nursing practice. It is part of the wider ranging Essence of Care policy, that includes all the latest benchmarks developed since it was first launched in 2001.
Monsivais, D. B., & Engerbretson, J. C. (2011). Cultural cues: Review of patient- centered care in patient with nonmalignant chronic pain. [Magazine ]. Rehabilitation Nursing, 36(4), 166-71. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/docview/876578026?accountid=27965
Assessing and managing pain is an inevitable part of nursing and the care of patients. Incomplete relief of pain remains prevalent despite years of research due to barriers such as lack of kn...
It is evident from the literature that, the adverse effects of dementia make changes in patients quality of life by changing their behavioural and functional abilities including expression of feelings or communicational skills. As a result, it becomes a challenge for the health care provider to assess or identify pain or symptoms of pain in dementia patients when they are unable to articulate their needs. Using a pain measurement tool helps the health care provider to meet this challenge, thus improve the pain management in persons with severe cognitive impairment. Throughout the research, in order to find out the suitable diagnostic tool for pain assessment in patients with advanced dementia, author reviewed studies on different pain assessment
At some point of life, virtually everyone experiences some types of pain. Despite the availability of standardized pain management methods such as using analgesics and opioids, patients might inadequately managed for pain if pain assessments are done inefficiently. Nurses are in a unique position to assess pain as they have the most contact with the child and their family in hospital. Getting a thorough pain assessment occasionally hard for nurses with the patients whom cannot collaborate. For example, pain in infants and children can be difficult to assess.
To provide the best care for their elderly patients, nurses must incorporate pain assessment into their daily care of patients. Pain assessment is a key aspect of the nurse’s role. There are many factors to consider when assessing patients’ pain such as if they are verbal or non-verbal, what language they speak, their age and their cultural background. There are many tools that a nurse can use to assess a patient’s pain but one of the most common tools is the 0-10 scale. This tool can be asked verbally by asking what their pain level is on a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain they have ever had. You may also use this tool in a visual manner with faces that correlate to the numbers. 0 being a happy face and 10 being a very sad face. Elderly patients from diverse cultural backgrounds are increasing in long term care facilities so it is important to have a 0 – 10 pain scale written in their native language. Some patients are stoic and do not express their pain as much as other people so it is important to understand that a 0 – 10 pain scale might not always be sufficient and could be combined with observing any physical signs that the patient might be in pain such as facial expressions and guarding. Nurses must have a good base of knowledge and attitude towards pain and always take what the patient reports their pain scale to be as truth. If the patient does report pain it would be important to treat the pain or if it is a new occurrence to follow this assessment up with another val...
Findings. Pain has many different meanings to many people. What is important to know as a nurse or health care provider is that pain is what the patient says it is. It is not the nurse or provider’s place to determine what the patient’s pain is but rather take an in-depth history and assessment. Using this assessment and history can therefore help treat your patient’s pain accordingly. Also pain theories have been proposed and used the implications of nursing practice in regard to pain.
This essay will aim to look at the main principles of cancer pain management on an acute medical ward in a hospital setting. My rational for choosing to look at this is to expend my knowledge of the chosen area. Within this pieces of work I will look to include physiological, psychological and sociological aspects of pain management.
The general idea of, K, is that a nurse must have knowledge in the diversity of cultures, ethics, and education. The significance of this faction being that if the nurse is cognizant of the patient 's culture, beliefs, family values, support systems, and education level, a more thorough and comprehensive plan of care can be formulated. The premise of, S, is that a nurse must be skilled in the ability to communicate with and advocate for the patient, assess for and properly treat pain, and incorporate the needs and concerns of the patient and their family. The significance of this group and development of these skills include the achievement of pain control, increased rehabilitation periods, and an increase in patient/family satisfaction. The theme of, A, requires that a nurse maintains an open attitude toward the patient and to respect and validate the nurse-patient relationship, which will aid in a positive nurse-patient
A meaningful event from my clinical experience was during week four when my RA and I along with the nurse helped a client who had an unwitnessed fall. I came back to the unit after my break, and then it was my colleague’s turn to go for her break. We had to monitor each others clients during break time. Before she left, she told me that her client is in his room having breakfast and let her know about the client’s foods and drinks intake. He needs one-person assistance and he uses walker. She also told to assist the client to take off his pajamas and change into day clothes if he allows. I went along with another colleague to the client’s room, he was just sitting on the couch and he ate 25% of the foods and drank half cup of juice.
The major concepts deduced from the hypothesis fall under three categories: (1) multimodal intervention, (2) attentive care, and (3) patient participation. Multimodal intervention includes the concepts of potent pain medication, pharmacological adjuvants, and non-pharmacological adjuvants. Attentive care relates to the assessment of pain and side effects and intervention along with reassessments. Patient participation includes goal setting and patient education. The resulting outcome of these three categories working together is the balance between analgesia and side effects.
In a pain assessment, the pain is always subjective, in a verbal patient; pain is what the patient says that it is. Nurses must be able to recognize non verbal signs of pain such as elevated pulse, elevated blood pressure, grimacing, rocking, guarding, all of which are signs of pain (Jensen, 2011). A patient’s ethnicity may have a major influence on their meaning of pain and how it is evaluated and responded to behaviorally as well as emotionally (Campbell, & Edwards 2012). A patient may not feel that their pain is acceptable and they do not want to show that they are in pain. For some people, showing pain indicates that they are weak. Other patients will hide their pain as they do not want to be seen as a bother or be seen as a difficult patient.
"There is much pain that is quite noiseless; and that make human agonies are often a mere whisper in the of hurrying existence. There are glances of hatred that stab and raise no cry of murder; robberies that leave man of woman for ever beggared of peace and joy, yet kept secret by the sufferer-committed to no sound except that of low moans in the night, seen in no writing except that made on the face by the slow months of suppressed anguish and early morning tears. Many an inherited sorrow that has marred a life has been breathed into no human ear." George Eliot (1819-80), English novelist,editor. Felis Holt, the Radical, Introduction (1866).What is pain? In the American Heritage Dictionary, pain is referred to as "an unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury, disease, or emotional disorder." The word is rooted in Middle English, from an Old French piene, from Latin poena, meaning "penalty or pain", and from Greek pointe, meaning "penalty." Pain is a very realistic problem that many individuals face daily.