Activity 11.8: Reflective practice

Take some time to reflect back on your clinical practice and identify one or more ways in which you observed a patient coping with their pain with/without any analgesic.

You may find that some people only take analgesics when they are in pain to manage their daily activities; others may make sure that they take their medication frequently (as directed) and on time. Others may rest when they are in pain or lie/sit in a specific position as that eases the pain.

Whatever an individual does, that is their way of coping and should be taken into consideration when discussing pain management strategies and you should accommodate them as much as possible.