Patient’s Pain Care Bill of Rights

Posted by nurse on September 15, 2011 under Critical Care, Nursing Careers, patient health | Be the First to Comment

Nurses must respect pain complaints and responds to them appropriately. Whether this means summoning another doctor or referring the patient to another nurse, they should let the patient know the next step. Pain complaints must be promptly treated. Physicians must be able and willing to discuss side effects, cost issues, and complications of home care versus hospital care when outlining a care pan for patients.

Patients don’t like to feel like prisoners. Feel free to remind them they can refuse any care, feeding, test or snack before discussing it with the physician. Nurses should make sure patients understand they have treatment options even if they don’t know to ask for them. Patients have options that busy nurses may not feel obliged to advise them of. Nurses should exercise the utmost care in administering and counseling patients regarding pain management and pain therapies.

Nurses should know the data that pain specialists need to know to assess and consult with the patients when pain management becomes the primary topic of concern in a care plan or actively applied treatment. No treatment should require a split-second decision by the patient. If the Internet is not available in an urgent care setting, hospital room, or clinic visit, patients are completely dependent on the communications the nurse makes.