Author Question: A registered nurse, who has practiced for more than 20 years and has had a lot of experience caring ... (Read 54 times)

jrubin · **on:** Jul 22, 2018

A registered nurse, who has practiced for more than 20 years and has had a lot of experience caring for postsurgical patients, was questioned by a student nurse about why many nurses do not give the full amount of pain medication ordered by surgeons.

The nurse replied that the literature shows that many nurses do not give the full amount of pain medication because they: a. do not believe that the patient is experiencing that much pain.
b. do not want to contribute to pain medication addiction.
c. believe that limiting the amount of pain medication lowers costs.
d. are concerned about drug interactions with pain medication and other postsurgical medications.

Question 2

A registered nurse working for the emergency department sees a lot of patients who seek services because of pain. The nurse is aware that pain is which of the following?

a. Caused by a single physiological sensation
b. Caused by a specific stimulus
c. Subjective
d. Universally the same for everyone

briseldagonzales · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

B
Many nurses avoid acknowledging a patient's pain because of their own fear of contributing to addiction. These fears and beliefs lead to mistrust between the nurse and patient, increased patient recovery time, increased complications and mortality, increased psychological problems, and increased cost.

Answer to Question 2

C
Pain is more than a single physiological sensation caused by a specific stimulus. It is subjective and highly individualized. The person having pain is the only authority on it.
According to McCaffery's classic definition, Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever he says it does.