Question

Why is it important for health care workers to consistently evaluate a resident's response to pain?

A) To ignore the resident's complaints
B) To maintain subjectivity in pain assessment
C) Pain assessment is not important
D) To provide effective pain treatment and report observations objectively

Answer 1

Health care workers must evaluate a resident's response to pain to ensure they provide effective pain treatment and report observations objectively. This practice is essential for tailoring individualized care and ensuring equitable treatment across diverse patient populations.

Step-by-step explanation:

It is important for health care workers to consistently evaluate a resident's response to pain to provide effective pain treatment and report observations objectively (D). Pain assessment is critical in healthcare because it is a subjective symptom that can impact a patient's quality of life and may indicate underlying health issues. To manage patient pain effectively, health care workers need to utilize tools such as the Wong-Baker Faces pain-rating scale or measure skin conductance fluctuations to quantify the pain experienced by patients. By doing so, healthcare providers can tailor treatments to individual patient needs, ensuring that all patients, regardless of racial or ethnic background, receive equitable and compassionate care. Accurate pain assessment also avoids the biases that can arise from clinicians' subjective perceptions of pain.