DEWIT’S MEDICAL SURGICAL NURSING
FINAL PAPER COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND
ACCURATE SOLUTIONS STUDY GUIDE
●● When considering factors that may be contributing to a patient's
pain, the nurse correctly identifies which factor as being the least likely
to affect a patient's perception of pain?
1 Cultural background
2 Anxiety level
3 Socioeconomic status
4 Belief of what the pain could mean
Answer: ANS 3
Socioeconomic status has no effect on pain perception. A significant
amount of data exist correlating cultural background, anxiety level, and
beliefs regarding pain with pain perception and intensity experienced.
●● The nurse is assessing the patient's pain level. Which physiologic
sign would indicate the patient is experiencing pain?
1 Increased respiratory rate
2 Anxiety
3 Blood pressure within normal limits (WNL) for patient
4 Increased temperature
Answer: ANS 1
,Rapid breathing may indicate the patient is sensing discomfort or pain.
Anxiety may increase the intensity of perceived pain, but it does not
cause pain. Blood pressure changes are a common physiologic response
to pain. Body temperature does not correlate with pain sensation.
●● On the first day following bowel resection, the nurse's assessment
notes the patient to be awake, alert, and moving all extremities. To keep
him comfortable, the nurse wants to assess his pain level. What
intervention will most accurately reveal his pain level?
1 Measuring the patient's vital signs.
2 Reviewing his chart to see how much pain medication he has had.
3 Assessing his discomfort when you assist him to turn and deep-
breathe.
4 Asking him how he feels and to rate his pain.
Answer: ANS 4
The most significant data regarding a patient's level of pain can be
obtained by asking the patient to rate his pain on a scale of 0 to 10 (no
pain to worst pain ever experienced). The other options will aid in
assessing his pain, but the patient's description is the most accurate way
to assess pain level.
●● Two days after surgery, a 64-year-old patient with insulin-dependent
diabetes who has had a left below-the-knee amputation tells the nurse
she has pain in her left great toe. What kind of pain is the patient
experiencing?
1 Referred
, 2 Radiating
3 Phantom
4 Psychogenic
Answer: ANS 3
Phantom limb sensation is a commonly occurring phenomenon
following amputation and should be evaluated as acute pain. It may
spontaneously resolve or persist for several months. Referred pain
originates in an area anatomically distant from the area it is perceived;
this is due to types and distribution of pain fibers in body areas.
Radiating pain spreads out from the source of the pain. Psychogenic pain
is thought to be of psychological origin.
●● The nurse is caring for a cancer patient. The nurse notices that the
patient always refuses the offer for pain medication. What might be the
cause of his refusal of pain medication?
1 Low pain threshold
2 High pain threshold
3 Low pain tolerance
4 High pain tolerance
Answer: ANS 4
Pain tolerance indicates the level of pain that must be present before an
individual is significantly affected by it. Pain threshold is the level of
pain that must be present before an individual perceives its presence.
FINAL PAPER COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND
ACCURATE SOLUTIONS STUDY GUIDE
●● When considering factors that may be contributing to a patient's
pain, the nurse correctly identifies which factor as being the least likely
to affect a patient's perception of pain?
1 Cultural background
2 Anxiety level
3 Socioeconomic status
4 Belief of what the pain could mean
Answer: ANS 3
Socioeconomic status has no effect on pain perception. A significant
amount of data exist correlating cultural background, anxiety level, and
beliefs regarding pain with pain perception and intensity experienced.
●● The nurse is assessing the patient's pain level. Which physiologic
sign would indicate the patient is experiencing pain?
1 Increased respiratory rate
2 Anxiety
3 Blood pressure within normal limits (WNL) for patient
4 Increased temperature
Answer: ANS 1
,Rapid breathing may indicate the patient is sensing discomfort or pain.
Anxiety may increase the intensity of perceived pain, but it does not
cause pain. Blood pressure changes are a common physiologic response
to pain. Body temperature does not correlate with pain sensation.
●● On the first day following bowel resection, the nurse's assessment
notes the patient to be awake, alert, and moving all extremities. To keep
him comfortable, the nurse wants to assess his pain level. What
intervention will most accurately reveal his pain level?
1 Measuring the patient's vital signs.
2 Reviewing his chart to see how much pain medication he has had.
3 Assessing his discomfort when you assist him to turn and deep-
breathe.
4 Asking him how he feels and to rate his pain.
Answer: ANS 4
The most significant data regarding a patient's level of pain can be
obtained by asking the patient to rate his pain on a scale of 0 to 10 (no
pain to worst pain ever experienced). The other options will aid in
assessing his pain, but the patient's description is the most accurate way
to assess pain level.
●● Two days after surgery, a 64-year-old patient with insulin-dependent
diabetes who has had a left below-the-knee amputation tells the nurse
she has pain in her left great toe. What kind of pain is the patient
experiencing?
1 Referred
, 2 Radiating
3 Phantom
4 Psychogenic
Answer: ANS 3
Phantom limb sensation is a commonly occurring phenomenon
following amputation and should be evaluated as acute pain. It may
spontaneously resolve or persist for several months. Referred pain
originates in an area anatomically distant from the area it is perceived;
this is due to types and distribution of pain fibers in body areas.
Radiating pain spreads out from the source of the pain. Psychogenic pain
is thought to be of psychological origin.
●● The nurse is caring for a cancer patient. The nurse notices that the
patient always refuses the offer for pain medication. What might be the
cause of his refusal of pain medication?
1 Low pain threshold
2 High pain threshold
3 Low pain tolerance
4 High pain tolerance
Answer: ANS 4
Pain tolerance indicates the level of pain that must be present before an
individual is significantly affected by it. Pain threshold is the level of
pain that must be present before an individual perceives its presence.
