Pain is a subjective sensation and should never be dismissed. Asking the patient to rate their pain using the well-known visual-analog scale (1-10) is the best way to ascertain his/her pain. Using non-verbal cues or vital signs solely is not appropriate as they may not correlate with the subjective feeling of pain the patient is experiencing. Relying solely on the opinions of family and friends is also not appropriate as they may have prejudices and cannot comment accurately on what the patient is feeling.