OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 16: Pain Assessment
OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills
Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 16: Pain Assessment
Review Questions
Multiple Choice
1. How is pain defined?
A. by the stimulus that causes it
B. by the type of pain
C. by the patient*
D. by the body part it affects
LO: 16.1.1
Difficulty: Difficult
Blooms: Remember, Understand
AACN: 1.1a
2. According to research, how does chronic pain usually affect a patient’s emotional state?
A. causes patients to be more stoic
B. causes patients to be more vocal with complaints
C. causes patients to feel ashamed and try to hide their pain
D. causes patients to experience more negative emotions like anxiety and frustration*
LO: 16.1.2
Difficulty: Moderate
Blooms: Remember, Understand
AACN: 1.1a
3. What type of response to pain may include changes in heart rate and blood pressure, as
well as changes in facial expressions, emotions, vocalizations, and movement?
A. behavioral
B. emotional
C. affective
D. physiologic*
LO: 16.2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Blooms: Remember
AACN: 1.1a
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, OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 16: Pain Assessment
4. Your patient touched a hot pan and quickly removed his hand. Why?
A. His sympathetic nervous system triggered the fight-or-flight response.*
B. His autonomic nervous system perceived a stressful or dangerous situation.
C. His parasympathetic nervous system triggered the fight-or-flight response.
D. His parasympathetic nervous system perceived a stressful or dangerous situation.
LO: 16.2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
5. Vocalization is a common response to what type of pain?
A. acute*
B. somatic
C. visceral
D. idiopathic
LO: 16.2.2
Difficulty: Moderate
Blooms: Remember, Understand
AACN: 1.1a
6. Your patient was grimacing in pain but immediately changed his expression to a weak smile
when he saw his son. What changed the way your patient was expressing his pain?
A. sympathetic response
B. social context*
C. vocalization
D. parasympathetic response
LO: 16.2.2
Difficulty: Difficult
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate
AACN: 1.1b
7. What causes patients to have different emotional responses to pain?
A. sympathetic response
B. objective experience
C. parasympathetic response
D. subjective experience*
LO: 16.2.3
Difficulty: Moderate
For more free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed resources visit OpenStax.org.
2 1/29/2026
Chapter 16: Pain Assessment
OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills
Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 16: Pain Assessment
Review Questions
Multiple Choice
1. How is pain defined?
A. by the stimulus that causes it
B. by the type of pain
C. by the patient*
D. by the body part it affects
LO: 16.1.1
Difficulty: Difficult
Blooms: Remember, Understand
AACN: 1.1a
2. According to research, how does chronic pain usually affect a patient’s emotional state?
A. causes patients to be more stoic
B. causes patients to be more vocal with complaints
C. causes patients to feel ashamed and try to hide their pain
D. causes patients to experience more negative emotions like anxiety and frustration*
LO: 16.1.2
Difficulty: Moderate
Blooms: Remember, Understand
AACN: 1.1a
3. What type of response to pain may include changes in heart rate and blood pressure, as
well as changes in facial expressions, emotions, vocalizations, and movement?
A. behavioral
B. emotional
C. affective
D. physiologic*
LO: 16.2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Blooms: Remember
AACN: 1.1a
For more free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed resources visit OpenStax.org.
1 1/29/2026
, OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 16: Pain Assessment
4. Your patient touched a hot pan and quickly removed his hand. Why?
A. His sympathetic nervous system triggered the fight-or-flight response.*
B. His autonomic nervous system perceived a stressful or dangerous situation.
C. His parasympathetic nervous system triggered the fight-or-flight response.
D. His parasympathetic nervous system perceived a stressful or dangerous situation.
LO: 16.2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
5. Vocalization is a common response to what type of pain?
A. acute*
B. somatic
C. visceral
D. idiopathic
LO: 16.2.2
Difficulty: Moderate
Blooms: Remember, Understand
AACN: 1.1a
6. Your patient was grimacing in pain but immediately changed his expression to a weak smile
when he saw his son. What changed the way your patient was expressing his pain?
A. sympathetic response
B. social context*
C. vocalization
D. parasympathetic response
LO: 16.2.2
Difficulty: Difficult
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate
AACN: 1.1b
7. What causes patients to have different emotional responses to pain?
A. sympathetic response
B. objective experience
C. parasympathetic response
D. subjective experience*
LO: 16.2.3
Difficulty: Moderate
For more free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed resources visit OpenStax.org.
2 1/29/2026
