ATI LPN
Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 14e (Hinkle 2017)
Chapter 12 Questions
Question 1 of 5
The nurse who is a member of the palliative care team is assessing a patient. The patient indicates that he has been saving his PRN analgesics until the pain is intense because his pain control has been inadequate. What teaching should the nurse do with this patient?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Better pain control can be achieved with a preventive approach, reducing the amount of time patients are in pain. Low levels of pain are easier to reduce or control than intense levels of pain. Pain medication is used to prevent pain so pain medication is not increased when pain becomes intense. Chronic pain is treatable. Giving the patient alternative methods to control pain is good, but it will not work if the patient is in so much pain that he cannot institute reliable alternative methods.
Question 2 of 5
Two patients on your unit have recently returned to the postsurgical unit after knee arthroplasty. One patient is reporting pain of 8 to 9 on a 0 -to-10 pain scale, whereas the other patient is reporting a pain level of 3 to 4 on the same pain scale. What is the nurses most plausible rationale for understanding the patients different perceptions of pain?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Different people feel different degrees of pain from similar stimuli. Opioid tolerance is associated with chronic pain treatment and would not likely apply to these patients. The nurse should not assume the patient is exaggerating the pain because the patient is the best authority of his or her existence of pain, and definitions for pain state that pain is whatever the person says it is, existing whenever the experiencing person says it does.
Question 3 of 5
You are frequently assessing an 84-year-old womans pain after she suffered a humeral fracture in a fall. When applying the nursing process in pain management for a patient of this age, what principle should you best apply?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Older people may respond differently to pain than younger people. Because elderly people have a slower metabolism and a greater ratio of body fat to muscle mass compared with younger people, small doses of analgesic agents may be sufficient to relieve pain, and these doses may be effective longer. This fact also corresponds to an increased risk of adverse effects. Paradoxical effects are not a common phenomenon. Frequency of administration will vary widely according to numerous variables.
Question 4 of 5
The nurse is assessing a patients pain while the patient awaits a cholecystectomy. The patient is tearful, hesitant to move, and grimacing. When asked, the patient rates his pain as a 2 at this time using a 0 -to-10 pain scale. How should the nurse best respond to this assessment finding?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The patient is physically exhibiting signs and symptoms of pain. Further teaching may need to be done so the patient can correctly rate the pain. The nurse may also verify that the same scale is being used by the patient and caregiver to promote continuity. Although all answers are correct, the most accurate conclusion would be to reinforce teaching about the pain scale.
Question 5 of 5
You are creating a nursing care plan for a patient with a primary diagnosis of cellulitis and a secondary diagnosis of chronic pain. What common trait of patients who live with chronic pain should inform your care planning?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: It is tempting to expect that people who have had multiple or prolonged experiences with pain will be less anxious and more tolerant of pain than those who have had little experience with pain. However, this is not true for many people. The more experience a person has had with pain, the more frightened he or she may be about subsequent painful events. Chronic pain and acute pain are not mutually exclusive.