How to Talk to Your Patients About Pain

Pain is a very personal experience. It can refer to physical exhaustion, emotional anguish, or emotional strain. 

While patients are not always able to explain it in more detail than these broad terms, they know when they feel pain and when it needs attention. 

If you want your patients to get the best care possible when they are dealing with something painful, take their perspective into consideration and help them talk about pain as best they can while still receiving medical treatment.

What’s The Difference Between How Nurses Talk About Pain And How Patients Feel?

Patients need someone who not only provides medical treatment but they also need someone who listens and responds appropriately – a doctor cannot necessarily provide this in every situation. 

The medical professional must be able to consider not only the physical aspects of pain but also the emotional and social factors involved. 

By understanding these perspectives, you can help your patients to both understand their condition and treat it in the best way. 

Pain is a very real experience that should not be dismissed as “all in their head” or “just a sign that something is worse.” It is a serious matter that should be treated with concern, respect, and an eye toward finding effective treatment that can reduce your patient’s experience with pain.

How Nurses Learn To Communicate With Patients

During Nursing school, nurses are taught techniques that help them to listen and understand the patient’s experience with pain. 

This is true for everyone, but for clinicians, practically learning about pain can be different than for everyone else. 

Physical therapists need to understand the physiology of pain, pharmacologists need to understand how drugs work and how they interact with pain, surgeons need to understand anatomy and where the nerve endings are on a patient’s body in order to effect a complete cure, and so on.

While it is important to know what these specialists know and how they might be able to help your patients, it is also important not to ignore their concerns or dismiss them as unimportant.

Colleges can help students learn about how to communicate with patients, but it is up to the nurse to learn how to talk with your patients about their own pain.

For more information on nursing course options to learn more about how to work with patients and their pain, click here: academicpartnerships.uta.edu/programs/bachelor-of-science-nursing.aspx

What’s Important To Know About Pain? 

Every individual has a unique experience with pain. It can be different for each patient, and it is important not to assume that their pain is “all in their head” or “just a sign of something worse” when they are presenting with a painful occurrence. 

Doctors also have ways in which they can analyze and evaluate pain (varies from doctor to doctor), but for nurses, patients typically have no idea as to why their discomfort occurs.

Patient-Centered and Family-Focused Pain Management

Patients should not be simply “told” that their symptoms are “all in their head” or “it will go away,” but rather they should be encouraged to understand the experience of pain. 

You can provide them with more information in a non-threatening manner and ask them what they find helpful to share at the time with their doctors.