Nurses employ various methods to assess symptom severity, including:
1. Patient Self-Reports: Patients often rate their symptoms using scales like the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) or the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). These tools allow patients to express the intensity of their symptoms on a continuum. 2. Clinical Observations: Nurses observe physical signs and behaviors that indicate the severity of symptoms, such as facial expressions, body language, and physiological indicators like heart rate and blood pressure. 3. Standardized Tools: Instruments like the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) scale or the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale provide structured methods for evaluating symptom severity, especially in populations with communication challenges.
