Author Question: A client who is scheduled for the second in a series of painful dressing changes asks for my pain ... (Read 61 times)

stevenposner · **on:** Jul 23, 2018

A client who is scheduled for the second in a series of painful dressing changes asks for my pain medication now so it's working when the dressing is changed is most likely expressing:

1. A great fear of the expected pain
2. A need to be in control of his pain
3. An understanding that it is easier to prevent the pain than to stop the pain
4. An acceptance of the pain that the dressing change will obviously cause him

Question 2

Which of the following statements by the nurse reflects a need for immediate follow-up regard-ing the physical effects of chronic pain on body function?

1. His pulse and blood pressure are within his normal baseline limits, so I'm sure the pain medication is working.
2. Please take his pulse and blood pressure, and let me know if they are elevated above his normal baselines.
3. If his pulse and blood pressure are above his normal baseline, let me know, and I will medicate him for pain.
4. Unmanaged pain usually manifests itself in both an elevated pulse and blood pressure.

guyanai · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 23, 2018

Answer to Question 1

ANS: 3
Clients often seek relief before pain occurs, having learned that pain is easier to prevent than to treat. Although the other options may not be incorrect, the likelihood is greater for the answer.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: 1
Except in cases of severe traumatic pain, which sends a person into shock, most people reach a level of adaptation in which physical signs return to normal. Thus clients in pain will not always have changes in their vital signs. Changes in vital signs are more often indicative of problems other than pain. Although the remaining options recognize the phenomena, they are not assuming that no elevation of vital signs means the absence of pain.