Final answer:
The most appropriate nursing intervention for a boy who cannot verbalize his pain is to ask him to express it through drawing. This non-verbal assessment technique helps nurses evaluate the pain and provide appropriate care.
Step-by-step explanation:
The best intervention for a nurse treating a young boy who is in pain but cannot vocalize this pain would be option b) Ask the boy to draw a cartoon about the color or shape of his pain. This approach allows the child to express his pain in a non-verbal way, which can be especially useful for those who have difficulty communicating their pain through words. It is a recognized technique in pediatric nursing for assessing pain levels and can help the nurse to understand the intensity and nature of the pain the boy is experiencing.
Option a), medicating the boy with analgesics without proper assessment, can lead to overmedication or inadequate pain management. Option c), ignoring the boy’s pain if he is not complaining about it, is not ethical or professional, as it dismisses the patient's experience of pain. Option d), distracting the boy, could be a complimentary technique but should not be the primary method of intervention and does not help with assessing or managing the pain.