Pain Assessment Patients Experiencing Pain- MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about thePain Assessmentfor Indications of Patients Experiencing Pain. Answer: Indications of Patients Experiencing Pain, Causes and Impact of Pain Pain is a kind of body defense mechanism which shows that the individual is experiencing problems. Pain can be described as the personal sensation of hurt which is due to a noxious stimulus that signals cell and tissue damage and the responses involved in the protection of an organism (Finnerup, Attal, Haroutounian, McNicol, Baron, Dworkin, Gilron, Haanp, Hansson, Jensen Kamerman, 2015 p162). Pain can be as a result of injury or illness. Various indications show that an individual is experiencing pain. These signs are commonly referred to as responses to pain. There are physiological indications that are either sympathetic or parasympathetic, behavioral and affective responses. The physiologic sympathetic response is usually moderate and superficial which include high blood pressure, increased pulse rate, hyperventilation, pupil dilation, pallor, increased glucose, muscle tension, and rigidity. The physiologic parasympathetic response to severe and very pain are reduced pulse rate, decreased blood pressure, rapid and irregular breathing, fainting and unconsciousness as well as nausea and vomiting (Crofford, 2015 p126, p167). The behavioral indications that an individual is experiencing pain include restlessness, protecting the sensitive regions and refusing to move, grimacing crying and moaning and moving away from the painful stimuli (Flor Turk, 2015 p17). The affective indications that the individual is experiencing pain include depression, withdrawal, depression, fear, and anxiety (Gerrits, van Oppen, van Marwijk, Penninx van der Horst, 2014 p55). Hence it is important to value verbal and non-verbal cues patients can utilize to show the nurse that they are in pain. A patient who can talk will volunteer information about the pain to the nurse. This is not usually the case as sometimes the patient withholds information on pain for fear of being seen weak, fear of increased medication which could lead increase in the hospital bill and pain in the private parts. A patient who cannot communicate uses non-verbal prompts to convey the message to the nurse that they are experiencing pain (Payen Glinas, 201 4 p554). The can also look for various signs that indicate that the patient is experiencing pain, for example, different behaviors. Evidence of Therapeutic Interacting and pain Treatment Pain is regarded as a personal encounter therefore, the most important way of assessment of pain is listening carefully to the narration of the patient. The nurse uses the information given by the patient to initiate the procedure of pain assessment. To enable efficient flow of information, the nurse should avoid the medical jargon but use the language that the patient can fully understand. The nurse also builds a personal connection and relationship to ensure trust so that the patient can disclose all information about the pain that the patient might consider as personal or embarrassing. The evaluation of pain is an essential in pain assessment. The aim of the nurse is to obtain a detailed baseline pain evaluation. The nurse assesses the patients misconceptions and beliefs concerning pain management. The nurse provides education to the patient regarding the regime used in the administration of the pain. The nurse assures the patient that each and every step to be included in the pai n assessment procedure is directed at treating their pain actually. Pain can be treated with analgesics and moving away from the stimuli. Medications used in pain management include acetaminophen, corticosteroids, opioids, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) which include naproxen and ibuprofen (Barr, Fraser, Puntillo, Ely, Glinas, Dasta, Davidson, Devlin, Kress, Joffe Coursin, 2013 p273). Problem-Solving Abilities According to the nursing standards, each and every nurse is supposed to have various abilities to solve the numerous problems that face the nursing profession every day. To be able to gather the intended information from the patients who are not always cooperative, the nurse should think critically and come up with the solution (Yoo Park, 2015 p168). The medical professionals are regarded to as god because of thy cure you.' Therefore, the patient expects that the nurse will be ready to handle any problems that may arise. Various problems can occur during the pain assessment process. The first issue is the communication barrier. The nurse is expected to know the language of the communities where they are based as well as their culture. The nurse can abandon the professional language and the medical jargon and humbly explain to the patient the information in a layman's terms. The nurse also needs to create a healthy relationship hence ensuring that there is mutual trust hence the pati ent gives the information freely. Gather Equipment In pain assessment procedure, there is various tools and equipment that are used. The tools employed in the pain evaluation system include FLACC (face, leg, activity, cry and consolability), Wrong Baker faces pain scale, Visual Analogue scale, and other various tools (Kochman, Howell, Sheridan, Ryan, Lee, Zettersten Yoder, 2017 p15). These devices should be prepared and set up to decrease the time of pain evaluation process since the patient is in pain and needs urgently needs medical attention. Gathering equipment helps in time management. The most significant assessment tool is the nurses indulgent of the pain. It is paramount that the nurse knows what tools are to be used in the evaluation of pain. The pain assessment process is supposed to be as short as possible since the patient is suffering. Apart from the pain assessment tools and equipment, there are also other general tools used in various medical fields are also used in pain assessment. These devices include sphygmomanome ter, stethoscope, thermometer, and watch (Barker, Rushton Smith, 2015 p35). These and the pain assessment tools should be gathered and prepared to reduce time wastage so that the patient can be released from pain as soon as Assessment of Pain Under the given Guidelines The feeling of pain is a subjective entity hence the self-report is usually considered to be the gold standard accurate and reliable measure of pain (Forbes, Helen Elizabeth Watt, 2015p1). The most common method of measuring and assessing pain is the PQRST assessment process. This is the pain evaluation tool to precisely describe, evaluate, assess and also document the patients pain. The PQRST pain assessment method helps in the selection of the appropriate medication for pain and also helps in the evaluation of the response to treatment (Lovell, Forster Phillips, 2014 p2). Through the PQRST method, the nurse can direct the patient to the questions that need to be answered to complete the pain assessment procedure efficiently. PQRST represents Provocation/Palliation, Quality/Quantity, Region/Radiation, Severity Scale, and Timing. The pain evaluation process should always start with the history of the pain (Strong, van Griensven Vincenzino, 2014 p91). The patient should be able to carefully answer questions pertaining when the pain started, how long the pain has been there, what the patient was doing when the pain started and the position the patient was at the onset of the pain. The patient should be able to identify the anatomical location of the pain and if the pain is radiating. Radiation refers to the feeling that the pain is traveling from one part to another. The physiological explanation of this is that such regions have the same innervation. The quality and character of the pain refer to what the pain feels like and can be described as either burning, sharp, dull, shooting, throbbing twisting, crushing or even stretching. Based on the intensity, pain can be described as mild, moderate or severe according to various scales used in pain assessment. The aggravating factors refer to what worsens the pain which includes walking, movement, and standing, lying down or even bending (Davies, Cramp Gauntlett-Gilbert, Wynick McCabe, 2015 p320). The relieving factors are those that alleviates or relieves the pain. The pain relieving factors can either be resting, medications, changing position, massage, being active and heat or cold. The pain assessment tools a re usually based on the patients perception of pain and the severity. The pain assessment tools include the verbal rating scales, Visual Analogue scales and graphic rating scales, numerical rating scale, picture or pain scales, descriptor differential scale of pain intensity and behavioral measurements. The physical effects associated with pain include fatigue, disability, changes in mood, weakened immune system withdrawal, stress, anxiety, depression, irritability, and fear (Kress, Joffe Coursin, 2013 p270). Cleans, Replaces and Dispose of Equipment According to the Nursing Standards, a nurse should follow the guidelines given for cleanness, replacement, and disposal of used medical equipment. Cleanness is paramount in the medical setting as it ensures patient are prevented from various infections that may be present at the hospital. During the pain assessment procedure, the nurse should take note of the personal hygiene especially hand hygiene. The nurse should ensure that the hands are thoroughly cleaned and wearing gloves so as not to spread infection from one patient to the other. The materials that are to be reused are supposed to be cleaned well with the use of antiseptics to eliminate all the microorganisms that may be present hence reducing the chances of nosocomial infections to the patient. Apart from enhancing the safety of the patient, it promotes hygiene in the clinical unit. The nurse should be able to replace the medical equipment he or she uses so that the colleague can access them when in need. This ensures adhe rence to the nursing standards as it serves as a courtesy to the colleagues. The nurse should make sure proper disposal of the used tools and equipment as well as the waste products. Proper disposal of used tools and other wastes reduces environmental pollution as well as lessen the risk of spread of infection. (Chartier, 2014 p195)All nurses should learn these values so that they can offer safe and efficient medical intervention, especially during the pain assessment procedure. Documentation In health care setting, documentation is a vital tool. Various clinical situations require that the healthcare provider records and documents information that helps to better the outcome of the patient. During the process of pain assessment, recording and documentation are an important practice in the process of pain assessment is mostly a narration of the patients experiences to the healthcare provider. Documentation ensures that the pain process of evaluation is undertaken carefully for the safety of the patient as well as providing improved patient outcomes. During pain assessment process, documentation enables the health care provider to carefully follow the proper steps used in evaluating pain so that the patient can receive the best quality pain evaluation and management medical intervention. Documentation is used as a communication tool among various individuals in the healthcare profession (Guerges, Slama Zayadin, Kieninger, 2017 p1). Documentation provides a future reference as the medical process is a continuous activity since the health care practitioner will always want to know your medical history to make right decisions and diagnosis of the current health problem (Guerges et al. 2017 p1). Records are also used to determine the effectiveness of the medical intervention. During the pain assessment period, documentation is important since it shows the patients knowledge and understanding of the pain scale. Documentation usually describes the ability of the patient to evaluate pain levels by the use of 0-10 pain scale. As a nurse, it is paramount to document the patients contentment with the pain levels with the available modalities of treatment. The nurse should document the patient education that is provided and also the feedback to the learning. Pain assessment is part of history taking hence documentation is paramount. Documentation that the student can verbalize describe, and also demonstrate various aspect s of pain is necessary. Nurses and other medical professionals need to fully understand the art of documentation and apply it in their practice. Demonstrates Ability to link Theory to Practice A nurse should have vast and extensive knowledge of many medical and nursing concepts. The theory that is learned in nursing schools, during career practice, through various conferences and even online should be consolidated and employed when offering medical services (Koutoukidis, Stainton Hughson, 2016 p7). The nurse should have excellent knowledge of the theory of pain assessment. The nurse should be able to understand this information thoroughly, process it and store for use during the practice. The nurse should have the ability to integrate the theory and practice. The nurse should have knowledge on the steps of the procedure of the pain assessment, the tools used in the pain assessment activity, knowledge on how to use the various instruments, the effects of pain on the patient and other information needed for ensuring effective pain evaluation procedure. The nurse should be able to use this information to make sure that the pain assessment process is systematic and that all t he steps required are followed. References Barker, M., Rushton, M. and Smith, J., 2015. How to assess deteriorating patients. Nursing Standard, 30(11), pp.34-36. Barr, J., Fraser, G.L., Puntillo, K., Ely, E.W., Glinas, C., Dasta, J.F., Davidson, J.E., Devlin, J.W., Kress, J.P., Joffe, A.M. and Coursin, D.B., 2013. Clinical practice guidelines for the management of pain, agitation, and delirium in adult patients in the intensive care unit. Critical care medicine, 41(1), pp.263-306. Chartier, Y. ed., 2014. Safe management of wastes from health-care activities. 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