Pain Assessment

In summary, this study evaluates the use of evidenced based practice by nurses to adequately assess those individuals with different cultural backgrounds as well as those who need long term pain management. Nurses who were in different stages of their career and who also had experience with a wide variety of patient populations ranging from those able to communicate pain as well as those who were not. The researchers used an electronic survey called the “Pain Assessment Survey” to obtain the data for this study. The beginning of the survey focused on obtaining background information about the nurse completing it, and the latter part used pain assessment tools to gather information about evidence based practice being used during assessment
No one patient experiences pain the same as another. Sometimes, it takes more than one pathway in order to determine how extreme a patient’s pain is. The use of different pain scares such as the 1-10 Numerical scale, the Wong-Baker scale, and the observational pain assessment scale, has proven successful in the treatment of patient discomfort. When determining appropriate pain scales to use in the special populations, research has shown that is it of utmost importance that he nurse remains aware of any learning or health barriers that prevent proper utilization of pain scales. It was also determined that when dealing with patients of various cultural backgrounds, the nurse must always remember that different cultures express pain in different ways. Research emphasizes the importance of understanding that people living with chronic pain most often will not express any absence of pain. Instead, the goal for him or her may be to keep pain at a tolerable level. Pain can present in a vast number of ways through many different pathways; therefore, patients demonstrate the presence of pain in various ways. As always, it is the nurse’s responsibility to understand the patient and determine the way best to address pain in a timely and acceptable
The majority of the nurses that were surveyed utilized the verbal pain assessment tool at almost 90%. Ninety-two percent of the registered nurses assessed pain on each patient in their care, and the notifications to the physician of uncontrolled pain is at a 90% rate. The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that the different populations of patients were assessed, was and could be done so by different assessment tools pertinent to that patient. The findings of this particular study have significant implications for registered nurses in using evidence-based practice to adequately treat patient’s pain. The study suggested that for nurses to properly treat the pain, the populations at hand should be taken into consideration. In learning how different populations perceive pain, nurses were then able to use evidence pain practice to adequately control patient’s