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NCLEX PAIN Management Questions,
Comprehensive Set. Exam Questions With
Correct Answers
A registered nurse is teaching a nursing student about various nonpharmacological pain management
interventions. Which of the nursing student's statements indicates a need for further teaching?
1
"Biofeedback can help change a patient's perception of pain."
2
"Music therapy can be used in combination with pharmacological measures."
3
"Guided imagery provides effective pain relief for a patient who has acute appendicitis."
4
"Therapeutic touch is a complementary and alternative medicine pain relief method." - answer✔3
Acute pain cannot be effectively managed by nonpharmacological pain management interventions
alone, so the nursing student requires further teaching to understand that guided imagery alone will be
inadequate for a patient experiencing acute appendicitis. The remaining statements indicate
understanding. Cognitive-behavioral interventions like biofeedback can change a patient's perception of
pain. Any nonpharmacological intervention like music therapy can be used in combination with
pharmacological interventions to provide pain relief. Therapeutic touch is a complementary and
alternative pain relief method.
A nurse instructor is teaching a class of student nurses about the nature of pain. Which statements
accurately describe this phenomenon? Select all that apply.
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a. Pain is whatever the physician treating the pain says it is.
b. Pain exists whenever the person experiencing it says it exists.
c. Pain is an emotional and sensory reaction to tissue damage.
d. Pain is a simple, universal, and easy-to-describe phenomenon.
e. Pain that occurs without a known cause is psychological in nature.
f. Pain is classified by duration, location, source, transmission, and etiology. - answer✔b, c, f. Margo
McCaffery (1979, p. 11) offers the classic definition of pain that is probably of greatest benefit to nurses
and their patients: "Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever he (or she)
says it does." The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) further defines pain as an
unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage (IASP,
1994). Pain is an elusive and complex phenomenon, and despite its universality, its exact nature remains
a mystery. Pain is present whenever a person says it is, even when no specific cause of the pain can be
found. Pain may be classified according to its duration, its location or source, its mode of transmission,
or its etiology.
When changing a dressing on the leg of a 16-year-old patient who suffered second degree burn injuries,
the nurse expects to observe which characteristics of pain expression? (Select all that apply.)
A. Stomping feet on the ground and screaming, "No"
B. Attempting to move leg out of reach of the nurse.
C. Repeatedly stating, "You're hurting me."
D. Clinching fists and tensing arms in anticipation.
E. Scooting away and asking parents to stop the nurse. - answer✔C. Repeatedly stating, "You're hurting
me."
D. Clinching fists and tensing arms in anticipation.
R: Developmental characteristics of the adolescent's response to pain include: less vocal protest; less
motor activity; more verbal expressions, such as "It hurts" or "You're hurting me"; and increased muscle
tension and body control. Stating "You're hurting me" and muscle tension are expected responses to
pain for the adolescent.
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The nurse is called to a patients room who complains of pain 9/10 and requests pain medication. He is
laughing, watching football, and is in conversation with a visitor. Based on the assessment, what
intervention should the nurse employ? - answer✔Give the total dose of pain medication
Pain is a multidimensional phenomenon that is difficult to define. It is personal and subjective and is
whatever the patient says it is.
Before administering celecoxib (Celebrex), the nurse will assess the patient's medical record for which of
the following medications that would increase the risk of adverse effects?
a. Aspirin
b. Scopolamine
c. Theophylline
d. Acetaminophen - answer✔Correct: A
Rationale: Celecoxib is a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) of the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)
inhibitor type. Although celecoxib does not inhibit COX-1 and thus has a decreased risk of bleeding,
bleeding is still of concern as an adverse effect. For this reason, the drug should not be taken with other
drugs that increase risk of bleeding, such as aspirin.
A 24-year old patient is admitted to the trauma unit with a diagnosis of a fractured femur after a motor
vehicle accident. He states that he has pain in the injured leg. What should be the first action taken by
the nurse?
a. Administer the lowest dose of pain medication
b. Assess the characteristics of the pain
c. Call the orthopedic surgeon
d. Complete the admission assessment - answer✔assess the characteristics of the pain
Deep somatic pain comes from/examples - answer✔stimulation of receptors in blood vessels, joints,
tendons, nerves, ligaments, fascia, muscles and bone
A client with chronic pain reports to you, the charge nurse, that the nurse have not been responding to
requests for pain medication. What is your initial action?
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A.Check the MARs and nurses' notes for the past several days.
B. Ask the nurse educator to give an in-service about pain management.
C. Perform a complete pain assessment and history on the client.
D. Have a conference with the nurses responsible for the care of this client - answer✔D. Have a
conference with the nurses responsible for the care of this client
As charge nurse, you must assess for the performance and attitude of the staff in relation to this client.
After gathering data from the nurses, additional information from the records and the client can be
obtained as necessary. The educator may be of assistance if knowledge deficit or need for performance
improvement is the problem.
A nurse is conducting a pain assessment on a patient with a spinal tumor and lower extremity pain.
What questions would be important to characterize the pain? Select all that apply:
a.) "What is your current level of pain on a scale of 0 to 10?"
b.) "How would you describe your pain: sharp, shooting, radiating, stabbing, throbbing, etc.?"
c.) "How long have you had this pain, and is it constant?"
d.) "What do you usually take for pain at home?" - answer✔Answer: A, B, C
In the acutely ill patient, unrelieved pain can cause increased morbidity due to: - answer✔respiratory
dysfunction, increased heart rate and cardiac workload, increased muscular contraction and spasm,
decreased gastric motility and transit, and increased breakdown of energy stores (catabolism).
When doing a pain assessment for a patient who has been admitted with metastatic breast cancer,
which question asked by the nurse will give the most information about the patient's pain?
a. "How long have you had this pain?"
b. "How would you describe your pain?"
c. "How much medication do you take for the pain?"
d."How many times a day do you medicate for pain?" - answer✔b. "How would you describe your pain?"
