This nursing care plan is for patients who are experiencing chronic pain. According to Nanda the definition of chronic pain is the state in which an individual experiences pain that is persistent or intermittent and lasts for greater than 6 months. This definition is different from acute pain where the individual experiences pain from 1 second to 6 months.
The patient may complain of the typical signs of discomfort but reports they have lasted for 6 months or more. Due to the patient experiencing these symptoms for more than 6 months the nurse may find that the patient has disruption of social and family relationship, irritability, depression, “beaten” look, fatigue, or somatic preoccupation.
Chronic pain can be caused by a number of things such as musculoskeletal problems such as back pain, treatment related therapy such as chemotherapy, or pregnancy.
Below is a nursing care plan for chronic pain related to the spine that includes a nursing diagnosis, interventions, and goals.
What are nursing care plans? How do you develop a nursing care plan? What nursing care plan book do you recommend helping you develop a nursing care plan?
This care plan is listed to give an example of how a Nurse (LPN or RN) may plan to treat a patient with those conditions.
Important Disclosure: Please keep in mind that these care plans are listed for Example/Educational purposes only, and some of these treatments may change over time. Do not treat a patient based on this care plan.
Care Plans are often developed in different formats. The formatting isn’t always important, and care plan formatting may vary among different nursing schools or medical jobs. Some hospitals may have the information displayed in digital format, or use pre-made templates. The most important part of the care plan is the content, as that is the foundation on which you will base your care.
Nursing Care Plan for Chronic Pain
If you want to view a video tutorial on how to construct a care plan in nursing school, please view the video below. Otherwise, scroll down to view this completed care plan.
Scenario
A 56 year old male comes in with complaints of pain in his back. He states that he has been having consistent pain in his lower back for about a year. He states he finally decided to come in to get it “checked out” because it is “taking a toll” on his ability to work. He reports that the back pain has left him depressed and fatigued because he is not able to do the things he use to do a year ago. He also reports that it has effected his relationship with his wife and children. You note the patient looks exhausted with dark circles underneath his eyes and that he is constantly rubbing his back.
Nursing Diagnosis
Chronic pain related to inflammation of the lumbar spine as evidence by patient reporting consistent lower back pain for a year, disruption of social and family relationships, depression, fatigue, “beaten look”, and rubbing of painful part.
Subjective Data
He states that he has been having consistent pain in his lower back for about a year. He states he finally decided to come in to get it “checked out” because it is “taking a toll” on his ability to work. He reports that the back pain has left him depressed and fatigued because he is not able to do the things he use to do a year ago. He also reports that it has effected his relationship with his wife and children.
Objective Data
A 56 year old male comes in with complaints of pain in his back. You note the patient looks exhausted with dark circles underneath his eyes and that he is constantly rubbing his back.
Nursing Outcomes
-The patient will report improvement of back pain and an increase in daily activities by next follow-up appointment.
-The patient will verbalize expectation of course of pain treatment and his desired outcomes of treatment goals.
-The patient will list 5 noninvasive pain relief measures to help manage the pain.
-The patient will verbalized how to correctly take prescribed prn medication for his back pain.
Nursing Interventions
-The nurse will assess the patients report of improvement of back pain and an increase in daily activities at next follow-up appointment.
-The nurse will assess the patient’s expectation of the course of pain treatment and his desired outcome of treatment goals.
-The nurse will educate the patient on 5 noninvasive pain relief measures to help manage the patient’s pain.
-The nure will educate the patient on how to correctly take the prescribed prn medication for his back pain.