Question

The nurse enters the client's room and the client is sitting up in bed laughing and visiting with family. the client states that the pain is a "10" on a pain scale of 0 to 10. the client is requesting pain medication. what is the best response by the nurse?

Answer 1

I am a nurse and this happens often.  We call these patients drug seekers.  She needs to explain to him and give examples of the pain scale.  She can offer other measures before giving the pain medication such as position change, massage, ask visitors to leave if the are "bothering" him.  Unfortunately many doctor's will still give the pain medicine to these patients and the nurse has to obey orders.  If she does medicate him she can choose the lower dose medication  first. Hope this helps.