Author Question: The nurse is caring for a 4-year-old child who has pain. Which technique will the nurse use to best ... (Read 28 times)

D2AR0N · **on:** Jul 22, 2018

The nurse is caring for a 4-year-old child who has pain. Which technique will the nurse use to best assess pain in this child?

a. Use the FACES scale.
b. Check to see what previous nurses have charted.
c. Ask the parents if they think their child is in pain.
d. Have the child rate the level of pain on a 0 to 10 pain scale.

Question 2

The nurse is caring for a patient to ease modifiable factors that contribute to pain. Which areas did the nurse focus on with this patient?

a. Age and gender
b. Anxiety and fear
c. Culture and ethnicity
d. Previous pain experiences and cognitive abilities

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

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A
The FACES scale assesses pain in children who are verbal. Because a 4-year-old is verbal, this is an appropriate scale to use with this child. Assessing pain intensity in children requires special techniques. Young children often have difficulty expressing their pain. Parents' statement of pain is not an effective way to assess pain in children because children's statements are the most important. The 0 to 10 pain scale is too difficult for a 4-year-old child to understand. Previous documentation by nurses will tell you what the child's pain has been but will not tell you the child's current pain intensity.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
Some examples of modifiable contributors to pain are anxiety and fear. The nurse can take measures to ease the patient's anxiety and fear related to pain. Age, gender, culture, ethnicity, cognitive abilities, and previous pain experience are all nonmodifiable factors that the nurse can help the patient to understand, but the nurse cannot alter them.