A client had surgery yesterday and is complaining of pain. The best action by the nurse is to
A) ask the patient which pain medication she/he took last.
B) do a complete assessment of the pain.
C) prepare to administer the ordered pain medication.
D) record the client's complaints thoroughly and get the pain medication.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of symptom analysis. Nurses should use a recognized approach to fully assess each client complaint, such as the OLDCART or PQRST method. It is best to understand the source of a complaint before treating it. In this case, the postoperative client could be having a nonrelated problem such as angina. Without a further assessment, the nurse would administer the postoperative pain medication, which might mask the new symptoms or delay diagnosis and treatment.

A Client Had Surgery Yesterday and Is Complaining of Pain