N580 Module 12 Questions and
Complete Solutions Graded A+
Nurse Jones began using pain as the fifth vital sign and became very interested in the different patient
responses to pain relief. Over time she wondered if the difference had to do with whether her post-
operative patients were receiving Demerol or Morphine. She conducted a prospective study where
according to the physician's preference the patient received an equigesic dose of either Demerol (group
1) or Morphine (group 2) on the first post-operative day. The dependent variable was the patient's self
pain rating on an analog scale where 0 equaled no pain and 10 equaled the worst pain possible. There
were 50 patients in each of her groups. Assuming that the assumptions were met, which test would you
run?
a. chi-square
b. independent t-test
c. paired t-test
d. pearson's r - Answer: B
Nurse Jones decided to run the independent t. Given these results, what was the mean difference in
pain ratings? mean pain rating group 1: 5.6 (sd 1.2) mean pain rating group 2: 4.4 ( sd 1.0) difference: 1.2
(sd=2.152) (se=.221) t = 5.43, p = 0.0001, df = 98.
a. 0.6107
b. 3.99
c. 1.2
d. 2.951 - Answer: c
From a clinical point of view, how would you interpret the results from previous question?
a. There wasn't any difference in pain rating by groups -- Demerol and Morphine were equally effective
(or ineffective)
b. Post-operative patients who received Morphine had significantly lower pain ratings than post-
operative patients who received Demerol
Complete Solutions Graded A+
Nurse Jones began using pain as the fifth vital sign and became very interested in the different patient
responses to pain relief. Over time she wondered if the difference had to do with whether her post-
operative patients were receiving Demerol or Morphine. She conducted a prospective study where
according to the physician's preference the patient received an equigesic dose of either Demerol (group
1) or Morphine (group 2) on the first post-operative day. The dependent variable was the patient's self
pain rating on an analog scale where 0 equaled no pain and 10 equaled the worst pain possible. There
were 50 patients in each of her groups. Assuming that the assumptions were met, which test would you
run?
a. chi-square
b. independent t-test
c. paired t-test
d. pearson's r - Answer: B
Nurse Jones decided to run the independent t. Given these results, what was the mean difference in
pain ratings? mean pain rating group 1: 5.6 (sd 1.2) mean pain rating group 2: 4.4 ( sd 1.0) difference: 1.2
(sd=2.152) (se=.221) t = 5.43, p = 0.0001, df = 98.
a. 0.6107
b. 3.99
c. 1.2
d. 2.951 - Answer: c
From a clinical point of view, how would you interpret the results from previous question?
a. There wasn't any difference in pain rating by groups -- Demerol and Morphine were equally effective
(or ineffective)
b. Post-operative patients who received Morphine had significantly lower pain ratings than post-
operative patients who received Demerol
