The nurse is caring for a patient who recently had surgery to repair a hernia.The patient's pain was rated 7 on a scale of 0 to 10 before pain medication was administered.One hour after receiving an oral opioid,the patient ranks his pain at 3.The patient asks the nurse why he isn't receiving more pain medication.Which is the nurse's best response?

Question

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The patient is responding well to the oral pain medication,and it can take longer for oral medications to relieve pain.Trying nonpharmacological interventions as an addition to opioid medications is appropriate at this time.If nonpharmacological interventions combined with the oral opioid are ineffective,the nurse needs to notify the health care provider and ask for a change in the medication or for additional pain medication.Saying that the patient has to wait 4 hours for additional pain medication is inaccurate because the nurse needs to provide further nursing interventions if pain is not relieved to an acceptable level for the patient.Admission to an intensive care unit is not typically necessary to manage pain after surgery for a hernia.

The Nurse Is Caring for a Patient Who Recently Had