NSG 3023 Chapter 32 QUIZ
Chapter 32: Pain Management
Potter: Essentials for Nursing Practice, 8th Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A patient is admitted to the trauma unit with the diagnosis of spinal cord injury resulting
from an ATV accident. The health care provider has diagnosed the patient as a paraplegic.
Which of the following is one of the most important topics for patient teaching to prevent
further injury to the patient?
a. Reminding him that he can be injured and not feel pain below his waist
b. Suggesting that his parents purchase a motorized wheelchair to prevent arm muscle
strain
c. Reminding the patient to decrease fluid intake due to lack of mobility
d. Reminding the patient to drink plenty of fluids to maintain hydration
ANS: A
Some patients such as those with spinal cord injuries are unable to sense painful stimuli.
You must take special precautions to protect them from additional injury. Safety is the
number one priority for this patient due to lack of sensation and movement in the lower
extremities. Providing precautions against taking too much pain medication and reminding
the patient to drink plenty of fluids to maintain hydration are important interventions.
Determination of which type of wheelchair the patient will need would be determined by the
health care team closer to discharge. Pain processes require an intact peripheral nervous
system and spinal cord. Common factors that disrupt the pain experience include trauma,
drugs, tumor growth, and metabolic disorders.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Analyzing (Analysis)
REF: 871 OBJ: Describe the physiology of pain.
TOP: Nursing Process: Implementation MSC: Client Needs: Physiological Integrity
2. A graduate nurse is working for a diabetes unit. The nurse manager has prepared a very
thorough orientation, which includes check-offs for taking vital signs. The nurse manager
has informed the graduate nurse that their hospital has adopted the Joint Commission’s pain
standard and that they will be assessing five vital signs. The graduate nurse knows that the
fifth vital sign is which of the following?
a. Arterial blood gasses
b. Blood sugar
c. Blood pressure
d. Pain
ANS: D
National and international organizations have made efforts to correct this problem. The Joint
Commission (2013) has a pain standard for health care workers to assess all patients for pain
on a regular basis. Many health care institutions have adopted this standard by
recommending that pain be assessed as the “fifth vital sign.”
, PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering (Knowledge)
REF: 874 OBJ: Assess a patient experiencing pain.
TOP: Nursing Process: Implementation
MSC: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment
3. A registered nurse working for the emergency department sees a lot of patients who seek
services because of pain. The nurse is aware that pain is which of the following?
a. Caused by a single physiological sensation
b. Caused by a specific stimulus
c. Subjective
d. Universally the same for everyone
ANS: C
Pain is more than a single physiological sensation caused by a specific stimulus. It is
subjective and highly individualized. The person having pain is the only authority on it.
According to McCaffery’s classic definition, “Pain is whatever the experiencing person says
it is, existing whenever he says it does.”
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering (Knowledge)
REF: 870 OBJ: Assess a patient experiencing pain.
TOP: Nursing Process: Assessment MSC: Client Needs: Physiological Integrity
4. A registered nurse, who has practiced for more than 20 years and has had a lot of experience
caring for postsurgical patients, was questioned by a student nurse about why many nurses
do not give the full amount of pain medication ordered by surgeons. The nurse replied that
the literature shows that many nurses do not give the full amount of pain medication
because they:
a. do not believe that the patient is experiencing that much pain.
b. do not want to contribute to pain medication addiction.
c. believe that limiting the amount of pain medication lowers costs.
d. are concerned about drug interactions with pain medication and other postsurgical
medications.
ANS: B
Many nurses avoid acknowledging a patient’s pain because of their own fear of contributing
to addiction. These fears and beliefs lead to mistrust between the nurse and patient,
increased patient recovery time, increased complications and mortality, increased
psychological problems, and increased cost.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying (Application)
REF: 874 OBJ: Discuss nursing implications for administering analgesics.
TOP: Nursing Process: Planning
MSC: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment
5. When a person touches a hot stove, the resulting cellular damage causes a reaction that
converts the stimuli into a pain impulse. What is the term for this conversion?
a. Transduction
b. Transmission
c. Perception
d. Modulation
Chapter 32: Pain Management
Potter: Essentials for Nursing Practice, 8th Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A patient is admitted to the trauma unit with the diagnosis of spinal cord injury resulting
from an ATV accident. The health care provider has diagnosed the patient as a paraplegic.
Which of the following is one of the most important topics for patient teaching to prevent
further injury to the patient?
a. Reminding him that he can be injured and not feel pain below his waist
b. Suggesting that his parents purchase a motorized wheelchair to prevent arm muscle
strain
c. Reminding the patient to decrease fluid intake due to lack of mobility
d. Reminding the patient to drink plenty of fluids to maintain hydration
ANS: A
Some patients such as those with spinal cord injuries are unable to sense painful stimuli.
You must take special precautions to protect them from additional injury. Safety is the
number one priority for this patient due to lack of sensation and movement in the lower
extremities. Providing precautions against taking too much pain medication and reminding
the patient to drink plenty of fluids to maintain hydration are important interventions.
Determination of which type of wheelchair the patient will need would be determined by the
health care team closer to discharge. Pain processes require an intact peripheral nervous
system and spinal cord. Common factors that disrupt the pain experience include trauma,
drugs, tumor growth, and metabolic disorders.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Analyzing (Analysis)
REF: 871 OBJ: Describe the physiology of pain.
TOP: Nursing Process: Implementation MSC: Client Needs: Physiological Integrity
2. A graduate nurse is working for a diabetes unit. The nurse manager has prepared a very
thorough orientation, which includes check-offs for taking vital signs. The nurse manager
has informed the graduate nurse that their hospital has adopted the Joint Commission’s pain
standard and that they will be assessing five vital signs. The graduate nurse knows that the
fifth vital sign is which of the following?
a. Arterial blood gasses
b. Blood sugar
c. Blood pressure
d. Pain
ANS: D
National and international organizations have made efforts to correct this problem. The Joint
Commission (2013) has a pain standard for health care workers to assess all patients for pain
on a regular basis. Many health care institutions have adopted this standard by
recommending that pain be assessed as the “fifth vital sign.”
, PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering (Knowledge)
REF: 874 OBJ: Assess a patient experiencing pain.
TOP: Nursing Process: Implementation
MSC: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment
3. A registered nurse working for the emergency department sees a lot of patients who seek
services because of pain. The nurse is aware that pain is which of the following?
a. Caused by a single physiological sensation
b. Caused by a specific stimulus
c. Subjective
d. Universally the same for everyone
ANS: C
Pain is more than a single physiological sensation caused by a specific stimulus. It is
subjective and highly individualized. The person having pain is the only authority on it.
According to McCaffery’s classic definition, “Pain is whatever the experiencing person says
it is, existing whenever he says it does.”
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering (Knowledge)
REF: 870 OBJ: Assess a patient experiencing pain.
TOP: Nursing Process: Assessment MSC: Client Needs: Physiological Integrity
4. A registered nurse, who has practiced for more than 20 years and has had a lot of experience
caring for postsurgical patients, was questioned by a student nurse about why many nurses
do not give the full amount of pain medication ordered by surgeons. The nurse replied that
the literature shows that many nurses do not give the full amount of pain medication
because they:
a. do not believe that the patient is experiencing that much pain.
b. do not want to contribute to pain medication addiction.
c. believe that limiting the amount of pain medication lowers costs.
d. are concerned about drug interactions with pain medication and other postsurgical
medications.
ANS: B
Many nurses avoid acknowledging a patient’s pain because of their own fear of contributing
to addiction. These fears and beliefs lead to mistrust between the nurse and patient,
increased patient recovery time, increased complications and mortality, increased
psychological problems, and increased cost.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying (Application)
REF: 874 OBJ: Discuss nursing implications for administering analgesics.
TOP: Nursing Process: Planning
MSC: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment
5. When a person touches a hot stove, the resulting cellular damage causes a reaction that
converts the stimuli into a pain impulse. What is the term for this conversion?
a. Transduction
b. Transmission
c. Perception
d. Modulation
