Chapter 10: Pain assessment and management
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Pre‐procedural considerations
Assessment and recording tools
Accurate pain assessment is a prerequisite of effective control and is an essential component of nursing care. In the assessment process, the nurse gathers information from the patient that allows an understanding of their experience and its effect on their life. The information obtained guides the nurse in planning and evaluating strategies for care. Pain is rarely static; therefore, its assessment is not a one‐time process but is ongoing.
The sections above outline several tools that can be effective with different patient groups. However, some degree of caution must be exercised with the use of pain assessment tools. The nurse must be careful to select the tool that is most appropriate for a particular type of pain experience; for example, it would not be appropriate to use a pain assessment tool designed for use with patients with chronic pain to assess acute trauma or post‐operative pain.
In Procedure guideline 10.1: Pain assessment, fixed times for reviewing the pain have intentionally been omitted to allow for flexibility. It is suggested that, initially, the patient's pain is reviewed by the patient and nurse every 4 hours. However, this may need to be done more frequently if acute pain persists or if the nurse is evaluating the effects of an intervention. When a patient's level of pain has stabilized, recordings may be made less frequently, for example 12‐hourly or daily. The chart should be discontinued if the patient's pain becomes totally controlled.
Procedure guideline 10.1
