A nurse is caring for a patient who recently had spinal surgery. The nurse knows that

patients usually experience acute pain following this type of surgery. The patient

refuses to get up and walk and is not moving around in the bed. However, the patient

is stoic and denies experiencing pain at this time. What most likely explains this

patient’s behavior?

a. The surgery successfully cured the patient’s pain.

The patient’s culture is possibly influencing the patient’s experience of

b. pain.

The primary health care provider did not prescribe the correct amount

c. of medication.

The nurse is allowing personal beliefs about pain to influence pain

d. management at this time.

ANS: B

A patient’s culture or beliefs about pain often influence the patient’s expression of

pain. In this case, the patient has just had surgery, and the nurse knows that this

surgical procedure usually causes patients to experience pain. It is important at this

time for the nurse to examine cultural and ethnic factors that are possibly affecting

the patient’s lack of expression of pain at this time. Even if surgery corrects

neurological factors that create chronic pain, surgery causes pain in the acute period.

The patient has not taken any pain medication so this is an unrealistic assumption;

most pain medications have standard dosages. The nurse is not allowing personal

beliefs to influence pain management because the nurse is attempting to determine

the reason why the patient is not verbalizing the experience of pain.

12.A nurse is providing discharge teaching for a patient with a fractured humerus.

The patient is going home with hydrocodone. Which important patient education

does the nurse provide?

a. “You need to drink plenty of fluids and eat a diet high in fiber.”

“Narcotics can be addictive, so do not take them unless you are in

b. severe pain.”

“Be sure to eat a meal high in fat before taking the medication, to

c. avoid a stomach ulcer.”

“As your pain severity lessens, you will begin to give yourself onced. daily intramuscular injections.”