Nurses use various tools and techniques to assess pain. Some of the commonly used methods include:
Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) Patients rate their pain on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 indicating no pain and 10 representing the worst pain imaginable.
Visual Analog Scale (VAS) This involves a 10-cm line where patients mark their pain intensity, with one end representing "no pain" and the other "worst pain."
Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale Commonly used for children and non-verbal patients, this scale uses facial expressions to depict pain levels from 0 (no hurt) to 10 (hurts worst).
McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) This comprehensive tool assesses the quality and intensity of pain through descriptive words and categories.
