Pain assessment week 2 essay

Pain is a personal experience but may be difficult to communicate. It is vital that nurses know how best to assess it to ensure the optimal treatment is given Pain affects patients physically and emotionally, so successfully managing the pain they experience is a key component of their recovery.

The causes and symptoms of chronic and acute pain are detailed, along with the different assessment tools that can be used and for which patients they are suitable. Citation: Swift A (2015) Pain management 3: the importance of assessing pain in adults. Nursing Times ; 11: 41, 12-17.

Health professionals should not assume that a patient cannot participate in a pain assessment. People with dementia can often use self-report pain scales but they may need to be re-taught how to do so each time (Kaasalainen et al, 2013).

Pain is difficult to explain and use of analogies is common (Schott, 2004). For example, “It feels like my head is in a vice” immediately communicates what the patient is feeling, while “This pain is killing me” demonstrates the psychological impact of pain.