ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
PAIN MANAGEMENT - CORRECT ANSWER 31 questions & answers
The nurse is caring for a pt who is a devout Orthodox Jew. The pt is on a patient-controlled analgesia
(PCA) pump. What accommodations might the nurse have to make to conform to the pts cultural
needs?
a. Ask the patient whether he will need alternative forms of medication for the Sabbath.
b. Ask the patient specific questions because Jews tend to be stoic regarding pain.
c. Medicate the patient "around the clock" instead of as needed ("prn").
d. Understand that Jews believe that suffering is a consequence of actions in a previous life. -
CORRECT ANSWER A.
The patient is admitted with chronic pain. She states that nothing takes the pain away totally, but that
"Dilaudid works best." The fact that the patient calls the medication by name should alert the nurse to:
a. suspect that the patient is drug seeking.
b. expect that the patient may need smaller doses than normal.
c. assess the patient's acceptable level of comfort.
d. accept the fact that nothing will help this patient's pain. - CORRECT ANSWER C.
The nurse frequently must assess a patient who is experiencing pain. When assessing the intensity of
the pain, the nurse should:
a. ask whether there are any precipitating factors.
b. question the patient about the location of the pain.
c. offer the patient a pain scale to objectify the information.
d. use open-ended questions to find out about the sensation. - CORRECT ANSWER C.
,The nurse who is caring for a patient postoperatively notes that he is expressing discomfort and is
diaphoretic. Which of the following interventions is most appropriate?
a. Straighten the bed linens.
b. Change the saturated surgical dressing.
c. Administer prescribed pain medications.
d. Check for displaced equipment underneath the patient. - CORRECT ANSWER C.
The patient's family is concerned that the patient may get too much pain medication after surgery and
become addicted to the medication if he is placed on a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump. They
also voice concern about the effectiveness of the PCA. The nurse should instruct the family and the
patient that:
a. pain relief with the PCA pump is not as good as when the nurse provides it, but it does save on
nursing time.
b. pain relief is good when the medication peaks, but less so when the levels drop, and that is when
the patient will know that he needs more.
c. because the device provides medication as soon as the patient needs it, he will probably use less of
the medication.
d. the patient will be kept in bed for several days after surgery to make sure it is safe to ambulate. -
CORRECT ANSWER C.
The nurse caring for a patient who has a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) knows that it:
a. allows the family to participate in pain management for the patient.
b. prevents mistakes in medication administration.
c. can be used by all hospitalized patients.
d. provides a more constant level of medication. - CORRECT ANSWER D.
When evaluating the effects of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), the nurse notes that the patient is
sedated and is difficult to arouse. What step should the nurse take next?
a. Insert an airway.
b. Turn patient to the side.
c. Stop the PCA.
, d. Expect this as a patient outcome of the therapy. - CORRECT ANSWER C.
The patient is scheduled for surgery late in the afternoon. His postoperative orders include patient-
controlled analgesia (PCA) therapy. Which of the following nursing interventions is appropriate to
perform?
a. Teach the patient about PCA after the patient comes out of recovery.
b. Teach the patient about PCA before surgery and before preoperative medication administration.
c. Tell the patient not to use PCA unless he can no longer tolerate the pain.
d. Inform the patient's family to watch him carefully and to depress the PCA administration button
whenever they think he needs it. - CORRECT ANSWER B.
The nurse knows that an advantage of intraspinal analgesia is the:
a. smaller doses of epidural than intrathecal medication.
b. lack of significant patient complications.
c. systemic distribution of morphine faster than fentanyl.
d. ability to achieve appropriate analgesia with smaller dosages - CORRECT ANSWER D.
The patient is in the hospital undergoing major abdominal surgery. When the patient returns from the
recovery room, the nurse expects that he most likely will be receiving pain medication:
a. by mouth.
b. intramuscularly.
c. via the epidural route.
d. intravenously. - CORRECT ANSWER C.
While reviewing a patient's medication history, the nurse determines that intraspinal analgesia is
contraindicated as a result of:
a. previous spinal anesthesia.
b. recent administration of anticoagulants.