NURA 303 Fundamentals of Nursing Care
Comfort and Pain Management Case Study
Corry Trocheck
Objective:
To apply the principles of the pain experience and pain management following steps of
the nursing process through assessment and planning of care for a client with chronic
pain.
Case Study A:
You are a nurse on a medical–surgical unit in a hospital caring for one of your patients
who is admitted several times per year due to her uncontrolled back and shoulder pain.
She is 70 y/o and, by assessing her expression, it is hard to believe she is in pain at all.
She can be a challenging patient because she is quite vocal about her pain level and
needing more pain medication.
1. Describe factors that could possibly affect a patient’s pain experience and the
perception of this experience.
Pain is the perception of the individual experiencing it. This perception is influenced by
many factors and varies widely from person to person. Culture will influence the way
someone perceives and reacts to pain, as well as acceptable expressions of pain
(Taylor, Lynn, & Bartlett, 2019). For example, some might view expressing any feelings
of pain as weakness and frown upon those who do not control their outward reactions
toward pain. The way a family reacts to pain (both their pain and pain felt by others) is
also an influence on the perception and experience of pain (Taylor et al., 2019). Gender
(and the underlying gender roles we enforce as a society) plays a huge role in how we
display pain we experience (Taylor et al., 2019). Boys are typically told to “be tough”
when they get injured, whereas girls are allowed to express and feel their pain more
openly. Age may be a factor in the perception of pain as well (Taylor et al., 2019).
Comfort and Pain Management Case Study
Corry Trocheck
Objective:
To apply the principles of the pain experience and pain management following steps of
the nursing process through assessment and planning of care for a client with chronic
pain.
Case Study A:
You are a nurse on a medical–surgical unit in a hospital caring for one of your patients
who is admitted several times per year due to her uncontrolled back and shoulder pain.
She is 70 y/o and, by assessing her expression, it is hard to believe she is in pain at all.
She can be a challenging patient because she is quite vocal about her pain level and
needing more pain medication.
1. Describe factors that could possibly affect a patient’s pain experience and the
perception of this experience.
Pain is the perception of the individual experiencing it. This perception is influenced by
many factors and varies widely from person to person. Culture will influence the way
someone perceives and reacts to pain, as well as acceptable expressions of pain
(Taylor, Lynn, & Bartlett, 2019). For example, some might view expressing any feelings
of pain as weakness and frown upon those who do not control their outward reactions
toward pain. The way a family reacts to pain (both their pain and pain felt by others) is
also an influence on the perception and experience of pain (Taylor et al., 2019). Gender
(and the underlying gender roles we enforce as a society) plays a huge role in how we
display pain we experience (Taylor et al., 2019). Boys are typically told to “be tough”
when they get injured, whereas girls are allowed to express and feel their pain more
openly. Age may be a factor in the perception of pain as well (Taylor et al., 2019).
