Pain scale (Rated R)!!!

donmurray · Jun 29, 2001

Wonderful! roflmao! Is that called fine tuning the accuracy?

Don. (tearfully!)

TriciaRN · Jul 3, 2001

LOLOL!!!!!! That kind of puts it into perspective for them huh? I love it!

Ted · Jul 3, 2001

LOL!!!

Ted

kennedyj · Jul 14, 2001

lol. i'll have to remember that one next time a patient says 10.

sweeeeet!!!

Jared

cwood2b · Jul 16, 2001

I cannot stop laughing! That was great!

misti_z · Jul 20, 2001

I'll have to remeber that one. Helps put it into prospective for them doesn't it!

And I guess for women, 10 would be how hard the man squeezes your hand as he's getting crushed with two bricks, huh? :eek:

babs_rn · Aug 1, 2001

For women I use the pain of childbirth to compare to a 10. For older men, it's kidney stone pain. Otherwise I often go for the little "face chart" scale. If they're walking about, laughing and joking, I don't care what they say...it's NOT a 10. I remember when that "pain scale" came out in the first place, I thought it was a crock then and I still do. No way you can put a number to something subjective. Plus many times in the ER they'll continue to give you a high number to either (1) win sympathy (2) avoid going home or more commonly (3) get heavier drugs. JCAHO is actively encouraging narcotic dependence in society. We're all turning into a bunch of wusses.

Babs

bungies · Aug 3, 2001

I agree with your assessment of the pain scale, babs, but it IS useful in a field like hospice care, where patients are very much more in touch with how they feel. I think I'd find it difficult to rate pain myself, except relative to other pain (e.g. whether analgesia has made any difference). I have seen academic writing trying to pass the pain scale off as objective data! (The original post by nurseyperson seems to question that, doesn't it?)

lynnern · Aug 3, 2001

I agree with Babs RN - Working in the ED requires you never to lose your humor factor! People walking around - going out to smoke - talking to you in a normal voice pattern (sometimes annoyed) give me a rating of 10 all the time. It is all in there perception. Children, however, using the face scale are more accurate in their subjective description of pain - I suppose they just haven't learned how to manipulate the system to get pain relief yet!!! Thanks for the insight! Our nurses tell pts that a 10 is if someone rips your leg off and beats you over the head with it!

HazeK · Aug 12, 2001

we just laugh & laugh in L&D over the new JACHO requirement for using a pain scale!

For years we've used documentations like "breathing thru UCs" "crying" "writhing in pain"

along w/ mental status documentation like anxious, calm, cooperative, withdrawn, etc.

NOW we get to ask a natural childbirth mom who is 8cms dialated her level of pain from 1-10....then, walk to another room where a first-time mom is having some cramping in her lower back, at 2 cms...and listen to THIS patient call her pain "a 7"....honey, she has NO IDEA what is ahead of her!

I always thought that assessing a patient included assessing for level of pain...and then treating it with comfort measures or medications.... Why did JACHO feel the need for this new annoying rule??

mustangsheba · Aug 12, 2001

The annoying rule is in response to public demand and even legislation that addresses the fact that real pain in the majority of the American population was not being addressed. Much of the untreated pain was in the terminally ill and the elderly and resulted in suicidal ideation. I love the bricking idea and I'm not especially fond of JCAHO, but I support the attempt to manage pain more humanely. I think we get a bit jaded working ER cuz we see a preponderance of whiners there.