The conventional 0-10 pain scale used as “the fifth vital sign” has made caregivers complacent in pain management. A new scale has been devolved by James Nencka, Chief of Medicine at the Clement Ave complex.
Dubbed the NAP Scale (Nencka Adjusted Pain Scale), it will revolutionize how pain is managed in healthcare. This scale takes the established subjective 0-10 scale and adds an objective scoring table that can take away up to 10 points from that original number, followed by some positive adjustments. This new objective pain scale adjustment could be one of the greatest medical breakthroughs since vaccine development.
Start with the traditional 0-10 pain scale. Use each score criteria to adjust the initial score.
After a score is determined there may be more adjustments made:
– Patient is Hmong +10
– Patient has a large piece of metal protruding from any part of their body +5
– Patients first documented visit to the Emergency department +4
– Patient has already taken OTC pain medications prior to arrival +2
– Patient has no smell of ETOH +1
– Patient properly uses 0-10 scale + 1
– Patient asks the question “Can I go back to work tomorrow?” +1
This scale does go from -10 all the way to +34 so pain medication must be adjusted properly as more studies will be done to determine the best pain medication and dosage dependent on the final score.
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