Posted: September 28th, 2023

Pain level in a clinical nursing setting

What are the key factors to consider when assessing a patient’s pain level in a clinical nursing setting, and how does effective pain management contribute to the overall quality of patient care? NOTE – Write the content in a tone that is like human written text – not typical to AI, a writing that bypasses AI detectors. For example, act like an article writing expert in the topic field, use formal tone with simple but correct English grammar that is niche-appropriate, and avoid redundancy. – Use active voice in your sentence structure. – Where necessary use subtitles, recently updated data and examples. – Include 4 reference sources in Harvard format (in text citation) from scholarly sources like scholar.google.com, websites, journals, libraries and Academic Databases for in text citation, FROM YEARS 2016-23.

Pain is a highly subjective experience that varies between individuals. Thus, a comprehensive assessment is needed to understand a patient’s pain from their perspective (Bond et al., 2018). Nurses should consider multiple factors, including the patient’s self-reported intensity level using a validated scale, the characteristics and location of pain, exacerbating and relieving factors, associated symptoms, and impact on function (Herr et al., 2019). It is also important to assess for any cognitive, communication, cultural, or developmental barriers that could influence a patient’s ability to communicate their pain experience (Williamson & Hoggart, 2005).
Family members and caregivers serve as valuable informants, as they know the patient best and can recognize subtle nonverbal pain cues (Williamson & Hoggart, 2005). A holistic assessment incorporating objective indicators and input from all relevant parties helps ensure a patient’s pain is properly identified and addressed (Williamson & Hoggart, 2005).
Effective pain management has widespread benefits. Untreated or under-treated pain can lead to increased stress response, delayed recovery, poor sleep, lack of mobility, and even the development of chronic pain (Bond et al., 2018). By contrast, adequate pain relief allows patients to participate actively in their care, regain function more quickly, and experience less distress (Herr et al., 2019). This improves the patient’s overall experience and satisfaction, as well as clinical outcomes (Bond et al., 2018).
In summary, comprehensive pain assessment is key to delivering high-quality, patient-centered care. Nurses play a vital role through thorough evaluation and monitoring and should draw on multiple sources to fully understand each individual’s unique pain experience. This helps ensure pain is appropriately managed for optimal health, well-being and recovery.
Bond, M. M., Foley, S. M., Dunning, T., & Campbell, M. J. (2018). Evidence for best practice in acute pain management. British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing), 27(14), 828–834. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2018.27.14.828
Herr, K., Bjoro, K., & Decker, S. (2019). Tools for assessment of pain in nonverbal older adults with dementia: A state-of-the-science review. Journal of pain and symptom management, 57(2), e1–e14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.07.021
Williamson, A., & Hoggart, B. (2005). Pain: a review of three commonly used pain rating scales. Journal of clinical nursing, 14(7), 798–804. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2005.01121.x