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Pain Management and Palliative Care Flashcards

6 cards from real AMSN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 6 Pain Management and Palliative Care flashcards as text

  1. A medical-surgical nurse is using non-pharmacological pain management. Which intervention has the strongest evidence for acute post-operative pain?

    Answer: Multimodal approach combining ice/heat, positioning, relaxation techniques, and analgesics

    A multimodal approach combining non-pharmacological techniques with analgesics provides superior pain control by targeting multiple pain pathways.

  2. Which tool is most appropriate for assessing pain in a non-verbal patient with dementia on a medical-surgical unit?

    Answer: PAINAD (Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia) scale

    The PAINAD scale assesses behavioral pain indicators (breathing, vocalization, facial expression, body language, consolability) in non-verbal dementia patients.

  3. A patient is to receive ketorolac (Toradol) IV for post-operative pain. The nurse knows that ketorolac should not be administered for more than:

    Answer: 5 days

    Ketorolac is limited to 5 days maximum (IV or IM) due to cumulative risk of GI bleeding, renal impairment, and platelet dysfunction with prolonged use.

  4. A patient receiving a fentanyl transdermal patch for chronic pain needs to know that the patch should be:

    Answer: Applied to clean, dry, non-irritated, non-irradiated skin on the upper arm, chest, or back and rotated sites

    Fentanyl patches must be applied to intact, hairless, non-irradiated skin; heating the patch (fever, heating pads) accelerates absorption and can cause fatal overdose.

  5. A patient with a history of opioid use disorder requires post-operative pain management. The nurse understands that:

    Answer: Patients with opioid use disorder have the right to effective pain management; coordinate with pain/addiction specialists

    Patients with opioid use disorder are entitled to effective pain management; undertreating pain is unethical, and coordination with addiction medicine optimizes both comfort and safety.

  6. A nurse is educating a patient about acetaminophen (Tylenol) use. The maximum recommended daily dose for a healthy adult is:

    Answer: 4 grams per day

    The maximum recommended daily dose of acetaminophen for healthy adults is 4 grams (4,000 mg); doses exceeding this risk hepatotoxicity.

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Sources & references

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  1. msncb.org — Score validity, eligibility, exam format, passing score, time limit, fees, late registration, retake fee, retake policy, score release · verified Oct 2026
  2. pearsonvue.com — Test delivery · verified Oct 2026