Question

A nurse is admitting a 5-year-old hospitalized child with normal speech and verbal development. which pain scale will the nurse use to assess this child?

A) Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)
B) Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
C) Wong-Baker FACES Scale
D) FLACC Scale (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability)

Answer 1

The Wong-Baker FACES Scale would be used for a 5-year-old child with normal speech and verbal development to assess their pain, as it allows them to choose a face that represents their pain level. Therefore, the correct option is c.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse would use the Wong-Baker FACES Scale to assess pain in a 5-year-old hospitalized child with normal speech and verbal development. This pain assessment tool is particularly useful with children as it uses a series of faces ranging from a happy face at 0, indicating no pain, to a crying face at 10, indicating the worst pain. Children can easily relate to these faces and select the one that best communicates the intensity of their pain. The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) are typically used with older children and adults who can understand and quantify their pain level using numbers. The FLACC Scale is often used with infants and young children who are unable to verbalize their pain.