We just got a new pain documentaion protocol. Supposedly, it is required by JCAHO for our total joint patients, therefore, it is going to be used on all of our patients on ortho. You have to document resp, O2 saturation, any O2 the patient is on, current pain level, negotiated pain level, location, description of pain, LOC, and behavior every time pain is addressed. So I am assuming that just running in and handing pain pills to a patient, on whose pain you have assessed is a thing of the past. Now we have to stop and document O2 saturation and resp rate amongst other things. Oh, and even if the patient states their pain is a 0 out of 10, we still have to address each of these things. Isn't this overkill? There are some patients whom I give pain meds to up to 8 or more times a shift....... when I am going to find the time? Perhaps we can just surgically implant an O2 sat monitor on admission