Use a uniform pain scale
Ambulatory Safety Monitor, June 8, 2006
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Because pain is subjective, when assessing a patient's pain, it is important to use a uniform method of asking about it. To do this, create a 0-10 scale and ask the same question everytime you assess a patient's pain.
For example, a score of 0 would be no pain, 5 would be as painful as having a finger crushed in the door, and 10 would be as painful as having your foot run over by a car. Everytime a nurse asks patients about their level of pain, he or she should use the same scale to allow your facility to better track pain.
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