VAS is formed by a 100 mm horizontal line anchored on both ends, with the left end denotes the minimum score and the other end as the maximum score. VAS anchors, time period of reporting and instructions of use vary depending on the intended use of the scale. For pain intensity, the left-most anchor indicates “no pain,” which is a score of 0 and the right-most anchor indicates “worst imaginable pain,” which is a score of 100 on a 100 mm scale. Pain VAS is self-completed by the participant where they are asked to draw a line perpendicular to the VAS line at the point that represents their pain intensity. Value of pain intensity is obtained by measuring the distance from the “no pain” anchor to the perpendicular line drawn by the participant.
2. One of the important factors that you need to establish is how much pain the person is feeling. This can be difficult as we all have different pain levels. Several methods have been developed to measure pain but the most common one is to ask the person to describe it on a scale 1 to 10, with 1 being the mildest to 10 being the worst pain they have ever felt. It is about individual experience and you need to react to the level at which that person describes their pain as one persons pain thresholds may be different to another.
The middle range theories consist of two more concepts, and these concepts are concrete and operationally explained. The hypothesis from middle range theories is testable. These theories are specific to the problem (McEwen, &. Wills, 2014). The middle range theory of Acute Pain Management by Good and Moore established in1996 used in the management of acute and chronic pain.
“Playing with Pain,” by Michelle Crouch in December, 2016, teaches us that focusing too much on one sport is not very good. Studies show that specializing in one sport actually has the opposite effect of what people think or say about it. Crouch write in the article about the experiences of Kellen Sillanpaa, a young athlete. The central idea is that if a person specializes in only one sport, there could be consequences. Some of the consequences are having pains, not being able to play a sport or do normal activities, and having a lower chance of success later in life.
What is the point in measuring something that is unique to every individual? In “The Pain Scale,” the author, Eula Biss, attempts to convey her pain to the reader. She tells the reader how she has tried to describe and measure her pain. There is a system set up for doing so, but it leaves much up to individual interpretation. The arbitrary process by which we are supposed to evaluate the level of pain we are experiencing doesn’t seem to accomplish much. Throughout the essay, Biss uses unique ways of comparing the suggested levels of pain to other “scales.” This raises the question, why can the scale, itself, doesn’t do adequate job of helping people understand pain.
Measuring Pain 1. 1. Sensory - intensity, duration, threshold, tolerance, location, etc 2. 2. Neurophysiological - brainwave activity, heart rate, etc 3. 3. Emotional and motivational - anxiety, anger, depression, resentment, etc 4. 4.
Conceptual analysis is integral in understanding nursing theory. According to Walker and Avant (1995), concept analysis allows nursing scholars to examine the attributes or characteristics of a concept. It can be used to evaluate a nursing theory and allows for examination of concepts for relevance and fit within the theory. The phenomena of pain will be discussed in this paper and how it relates to the comfort theory.
The ratings for this scale vary from no pain, a zero, to the worst pain one could possibly endure, a ten ('Misha' Backonja & Farrar, 2015). This type of tool used for measuring pain is considered a self-assessment. Meaning, the individual rates his/her pain on the provided scale. All individuals who have received medical treatment, whether for a serious injury or a yearly physical, has been asked, “What would you rate your pain today, on a scale of one to ten?”. This pain assessment tool is considered a fully ordered variable due to the individual having a wide range to rate his/her
No evidence exists to suggest that older individuals perceive pain to a lesser degree or that sensitivity is diminished. Although pain is a common experience among individuals 65 years of age and older, it is not a normal process of aging. Pain indicates pathology or injury. Pain should never be considered something to tolerate or accept in one's later years.
The late 19th century of America is best known for the increase of goods made by machine. Prior to this movement, industries were run primarily by highly skilled craftspeople. As 19th century America progressed, it became increasingly difficult to make a living as a craftsperson; it became easier to work in a factory under wage labor. This movement was viewed quite differently from many different people. There were a great deal of positive aspects, but a great deal of negative ones as well. Many historical figures documented their views of this movement in writing; among these are Andrew Carnegie with “Andrew Carnegie Hails the Triumph of America” in 1885, and Henry George with “Henry George Dissects the Paradox of Capitalist Growth” in 1879.
There are many various kinds of prescription of pain relievers, which include: opioids, corticosteroids, antidepressants and anticonvulsants (anti-seizure medications). Among them I would like to focus on opioid medications and its side effects. Opioid medications are narcotic pain medications that contain natural poppy plant, synthetic opiates such as; methadone, fentanyl, tapentadol and tramadol, as well as the semi- synthetic opioids such as; oxycodone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone and heroin. Opioid prescriptions are morphine (C17H19NO3), heroin (C21H23NO5), codeine (C18H21NO3) and thebaine (C19H21NO3). They are highly addictive substances are called opiates. Opioid medications have been used for hundreds and thousands of years to treat both pain and mental health problems. It is also use in a short-term pain after surgery. According to the survey in the past two decades, the prescription of opioid in the United States has been increased to the higher levels that is more than 600% (Paulozzi & Baldwin, 2012). However, that opioid medications are very dangerous to the patients’ respiratory system, other parts of the internal body and even can cause death. It should be only being use after wise discernment and with a great care.
The proper way to ensure that this is not a constant problem is to make sure that initial pain assessments as well as re-assessments are done in a timely manner. It seems as though the initial pain assessment was completed using the pain scale but the re-assessment was not complete and documented in the proper amount of time. In order to ensure proper documentation of the re-assessment once the first pain assessment has been completed and an intervention has properly been administered, the first action step will be to make sure that the reassessment is complete within one hour of pain intervention. With electronic mars it is easy to build in a recheck into the system to alert the nurse that a reassessment is needed once the pain medication has been administered to the patient. When a pain intervention is done, a flag will come up to remind the nurse taking care of the patient that a reassessment is due. This will also resolve the issue on the tracer audit of how does the nurse know the intervention worked. Another issue on the audit was if no pain intervention was done what was the reason for it not being done.
numeric values from 0 through 10 which is then added up to determine patient’s severity of pain. Zero means no pain and ten mean severe pain. (Warden, V, Hurley AC, Volicer, V. (2003) Another Pain Assessment tool used is the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). With the NRS pain scale, patients are asked to rate their pain level from 0 to 10. Zero means no pain, ten means worst pain. The nurse must ensure the patient is comfortable, and is encourage to ask question before the assessment begins. The patient must be allowed to describe their pain without any interruptions or judgement. If an interpreter is needed one must be provided. Family memebers and caregivers can be incorporated into the assessment to better understand the patient’s pain when they are non
‘Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage’ (International association for the study of pain 2014). Pain can be made up of complex and subjective experiences. The experience of pain is highly personal and private, and can not be directly observed or measured from one person to the next (Mac Lellan 2006). According to the agency for health care policy and research 1992, an individuals self-report of pain is the most reliable indicator of its presence. This is also supported by Mc Caffery’s definition in 1972, when he said ‘Pain is whatever the experiencing patient says it is, existing whenever he says it does’.
Pain cannot be measured by anyone other than the patient that is having the experience. This is why pain is sometime not understood and misevaluated by healthcare workers. Pain is measured by the Visual analog scale (VAS) of 1-10. One being the least amount of pain and ten being the worst possible. This test is done every four hours and reviewed 30 minutes after a medication administration for pain control. This non-invasive test gives the healthcare worker a measurable idea of the intensity of the pain the patient is experiencing. This also gives the health care worker a perceptive of how well the patient responds to pain after medication administration. Pain is not always seen it can be an eternal feeling.
The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” (1979). Pain is actually the culprit behind warranting a visit to a physician office for many people (Besson, 1999). Notoriously unpleasant, pain could also pose a threat as both a psychological and economic burden (Phillips, 2006). Sometimes pain does happen without any damage of tissue or any likely diseased state. The reasons for such pain are poorly understood and the term used to describe such type of pain is “psychogenic pain”. Also, the loss of productivity and daily activity due to pain is also significant. Pain engulfs a trillion dollars of GDP for lost work time and disability payments (Melnikova, 2010). Untreated pain not only impacts a person suffering from pain but also impacts their whole family. A person’s quality of life is negatively impacted by pain and it diminishes their ability to concentrate, work, exercise, socialize, perform daily routines, and sleep. All of these negative impacts ultimately lead to much more severe behavioral effects such as depression, aggression, mood alterations, isolation, and loss of self-esteem, which pose a great threat to human society.