The whole pain rating system is meaningless. The studies that showed people could rate pain had the subjects comparing to a standard pain like what it feels like to have your hand submerged in ice water for x minutes. It’s just stoopid to expect random people to rate pain reliably when there is no standard.
I would be a very rich woman if I had a dollar for every time I triaged someone who appeared very calm, had perfectly stable vital signs, and described their pain as a 10, or the ones who were doubled over, obviously very, very distressed, elevated vitals, and described their pain as a 2.
In 2001 JCAHO mandated that all patients be asked to rate their pain level when they came in to a providers office. One of the most disastrous requirements in modern medical history, as it directly sparked and fueled the Opioid crisis we face today.
From my perspective and from the comments, I have two different things I hope to contribute:
1. My belief is that the humorous aspect of the comic today is meant to be the fact that the faces of the pain model are all Caucasian and very truthfully should best be something else. The idea of the scale using faces of non-skin tone colors is quite common place today and when it is a sliding scale from green (low/no pain) to red (a lot of pain) it can often further assist in assessment.
2. In regards to the usefulness of the scale itself….. yes, of course there are a wide array of variances in how people perceive pain and how they report pain. But, the scale itself is useful as a relative assessment tool for clinicians.
BE THIS GUY almost 5 years ago
8
SHIVA almost 5 years ago
For this panel, a number 10 !!!
gopher gofer almost 5 years ago
this kind of question is a real pain…
blunebottle almost 5 years ago
14.
The Reader Premium Member almost 5 years ago
Ouch! Now that realy hurts!
!!ǝlɐ⅁ Premium Member almost 5 years ago
9.9 :-P
Breadboard almost 5 years ago
Do we get to hold up the number cards like Judges at a sporting event ?
Kaputnik almost 5 years ago
Being asked to apply numbers to things which one is unable to count or measure is an annoyance. I’ll give it a frowning face.
well-i-never almost 5 years ago
I think 6 faces covers the whole range. The ones without eyebrows though, they’re a little too minimalist.
PO' DAWG almost 5 years ago
May I suggest color from flesh to green and ending with red.
rmercer Premium Member almost 5 years ago
2π
MichaelMcGinnis1 almost 5 years ago
The whole pain rating system is meaningless. The studies that showed people could rate pain had the subjects comparing to a standard pain like what it feels like to have your hand submerged in ice water for x minutes. It’s just stoopid to expect random people to rate pain reliably when there is no standard.
Rayodeluz almost 5 years ago
From 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst and 1 also being the worst, I’d give it a 7.
Bex Premium Member almost 5 years ago
I would be a very rich woman if I had a dollar for every time I triaged someone who appeared very calm, had perfectly stable vital signs, and described their pain as a 10, or the ones who were doubled over, obviously very, very distressed, elevated vitals, and described their pain as a 2.
gigagrouch almost 5 years ago
i’ve heard more than one doctor or P.A. say that one should always say 9 or 10.
Not unlike cold-call polling: any data collected on a 1-10 scale is meaningless.
Holden Awn almost 5 years ago
In 2001 JCAHO mandated that all patients be asked to rate their pain level when they came in to a providers office. One of the most disastrous requirements in modern medical history, as it directly sparked and fueled the Opioid crisis we face today.
Pipe Tobacco Premium Member almost 5 years ago
From my perspective and from the comments, I have two different things I hope to contribute:
1. My belief is that the humorous aspect of the comic today is meant to be the fact that the faces of the pain model are all Caucasian and very truthfully should best be something else. The idea of the scale using faces of non-skin tone colors is quite common place today and when it is a sliding scale from green (low/no pain) to red (a lot of pain) it can often further assist in assessment.
2. In regards to the usefulness of the scale itself….. yes, of course there are a wide array of variances in how people perceive pain and how they report pain. But, the scale itself is useful as a relative assessment tool for clinicians.
Corpse Horn Light Premium Member almost 5 years ago
That chart (and most doctors I’ve been to) forget a key factor: Pain is entirely subjective.
heathcliff2 almost 5 years ago
Depends on the pain, or perhaps the cause.