Answer Happy

11:13 Esperanza has been admitted to a medical-surgical unit with a chief complaint of "pain of unknown origin." She is 39 years old, married, has two teenage children, and works with her husband in their landscaping business. As you prepare for the admission assessment, her mother, who brought Esperanza to the hospital, tells you that they fear that Esperanza has "empacho." Esperanza agrees. During the assessment, you ask Esperanza to describe the pain in her own words. She begins to sob and says that she finds it hard to describe the pain. She says that she has given birth twice and that this pain is worse, but it only happens after she eats dinner and goes away after a few hours. She is not in severe pain at present but complains of a constant slight ache in her stomach. Step 3, Responding: The responding step is your rationale for correct and incorrect answers. Discuss rationales for the correct and incorrect answers for Question #1 and 2. Upon completion, groups should explain their rationales and discuss/debate as a larger group. Question 1: What questions should you ask as part of your pain assessment? Question 2: What tools are available to assist with pain assessment? Which one would you choose?