Pain is the fifth vital sign and a frequent driver of suffering, functional decline, and unplanned care. Effective assessment is more than a single number: it pairs a validated intensity score with location, quality, pattern, functional impact, and the response to the regimen, and it uses an observational scale when the patient cannot self-report. Selecting the right scale, interpreting pain in functional context, and managing analgesic adverse effects require nursing judgment.
The purpose of this module is to give clinicians the skilled framework and chartable language that demonstrate pain assessment, regimen evaluation, teaching, and adverse-effect management were reasonable and necessary and required the skills of a licensed nurse. It is the primary home for pain assessment; diagnosis-specific pain management depth is cross-linked, not duplicated, into the Pain disease overlay.
