Chapter 11 Pain Assessment
Exams Questions with
Complete Solutions
User [Date] [Course title]
, 1. The nurse is evaluating a patient's pain. Which is an example of acute pain?
a. Fibromyalgia
b. Arthritic pain
c. Kidney stones
d. Lower back pain - Correct Answer: ANS: C
Acute pain is short term and self-limiting, often follows a predictable trajectory, and dissipates after an
injury heals, such as with surgery, trauma, and kidney stones. The other conditions are examples of
chronic pain in which the pain continues for 6 months or longer and does not stop when the injury heals.
Fibromyalgia, arthritic pain, and lower back pain are examples of nonmalignant chronic pain (pain that
continues for 6 months or longer and does not stop when the injury heals), not acute pain.
2. The nurse is teaching a class on pain at a local retirement community. Which statement about the
pain experienced by older adults should the nurse include in the instructions?
a. "Older adults must learn to tolerate pain."
b. "Pain is a normal process of aging and is to be expected."
c. "Pain indicates a pathologic condition or an injury and is not a normal process of aging."
d. "Older individuals perceive pain to a lesser degree than do younger individuals." - Correct Answer:
ANS: C
Pain indicates a pathologic condition or an injury and should never be considered something that an
older adult should expect or tolerate. Pain is not a normal process of aging, and no evidence suggests
that pain perception is reduced with aging. Older adults should not be expected to learn to tolerate pain
as pain is not a normal process of aging, and no evidence suggests that pain perception is reduced with
aging. Instead, pain indicates a pathologic condition or an injury.
3. A 4-year-old boy is brought to the emergency department by his mother. She says he points to his
stomach and says, "It hurts so bad." Which pain assessment tool would be the best choice when
assessing this child's pain?
a. Descriptor scale
Exams Questions with
Complete Solutions
User [Date] [Course title]
, 1. The nurse is evaluating a patient's pain. Which is an example of acute pain?
a. Fibromyalgia
b. Arthritic pain
c. Kidney stones
d. Lower back pain - Correct Answer: ANS: C
Acute pain is short term and self-limiting, often follows a predictable trajectory, and dissipates after an
injury heals, such as with surgery, trauma, and kidney stones. The other conditions are examples of
chronic pain in which the pain continues for 6 months or longer and does not stop when the injury heals.
Fibromyalgia, arthritic pain, and lower back pain are examples of nonmalignant chronic pain (pain that
continues for 6 months or longer and does not stop when the injury heals), not acute pain.
2. The nurse is teaching a class on pain at a local retirement community. Which statement about the
pain experienced by older adults should the nurse include in the instructions?
a. "Older adults must learn to tolerate pain."
b. "Pain is a normal process of aging and is to be expected."
c. "Pain indicates a pathologic condition or an injury and is not a normal process of aging."
d. "Older individuals perceive pain to a lesser degree than do younger individuals." - Correct Answer:
ANS: C
Pain indicates a pathologic condition or an injury and should never be considered something that an
older adult should expect or tolerate. Pain is not a normal process of aging, and no evidence suggests
that pain perception is reduced with aging. Older adults should not be expected to learn to tolerate pain
as pain is not a normal process of aging, and no evidence suggests that pain perception is reduced with
aging. Instead, pain indicates a pathologic condition or an injury.
3. A 4-year-old boy is brought to the emergency department by his mother. She says he points to his
stomach and says, "It hurts so bad." Which pain assessment tool would be the best choice when
assessing this child's pain?
a. Descriptor scale
