The 18-year-old patient presents to the emergency department (ED) complaining of severe pain in the ankle after falling at work. Range of motion in the ankle is decreased and +1 edema is present. On x-ray, the bones of the foot and ankle are intact and the patient is diagnosed with a mild sprain. How does the nurse assess this patient’s pain?

Ask the patient to rate the pain on a scale of 1-10. The patient is 18-years-old with no indication in the question of cognitive impairment. Therefore, the best way to assess the patient’s pain is to ask the patient to rate the pain on a sale of 1-10. The FACES pain scale is appropriate for preverbal patients. Because pain is subjective, the nurse cannot accurately assess the patient’s pain by determining the heart rate and blood pressure or observing facial expressions in response to passive range of motion.

The 18-year-old patient presents to the emergency department (ED)...

NCLEX Practice
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Basic Care and Comfort
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Category: Basic Care and Comfort
Difficulty: 5

Topics: Communication & Documentation Musculoskeletal Neurology

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