Question

An unlicensed nursing assistant (NA) reports to the nurse that a postsurgical patient is complaining of pain that she rates as 8 on a 0-to-10 point scale. The NA tells the nurse that he thinks the patient is exaggerating and does not need pain medication. What is the nurse's best response?

a) Pain often comes and goes with postsurgical patients. Please ask her about pain again in about 30 minutes.
b) We need to provide pain medications because it is the law, and we must always follow the law.
c) Unless there is strong evidence to the contrary, we should take the patient's report at face value.
d) It's not unusual for patients to misreport pain to get our attention when we are busy.

Answer 1

The nurse's best response is to take the patient's report of pain at face value and provide appropriate medication.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse's best response would be to choose option c) Unless there is strong evidence to the contrary, we should take the patient's report at face value. It is important for healthcare professionals to trust patients' self-reported pain levels and provide appropriate pain medication based on their reports. Dismissing the patient's pain as an exaggeration without any evidence can lead to inadequate treatment and unnecessary suffering.