Caring for Clients Experiencing Pain

Objective

Explain the assessment of pain

Discussion Overview

In this discussion forum, you will discuss the steps in assessing a client in pain including identifying nursing diagnoses and interventions.

Deliverables

Your participation in the discussion forum, including the following:

A response to the initial questions below
Responses to at least two other students’ posts
Step 1

Review the case scenario.

You are assigned to care for a client who was admitted to your unit yesterday with a diagnosis of heart failure. The client calls you to her room and reports that she is having chest pain. You know that this could be a serious issue and that you will need to address the client’s condition.

Step 2

Respond to the discussion questions.

In your response, address each of the following questions:

How would you assess the pain that this client is experiencing?
Which pain scale would be best to use to aid you in assessing the pain?
Identify one nursing diagnosis and one nursing intervention that would be appropriate to implement for this client.
Incorporate at least one professional, evidence-based resource in your response, to support the intervention you choose (include citations and references for sources using correct format).