Mr. Jones is a 34-year-old who was taken to the emergency department following a motor vehicle accident. He is well known to the ER staff, having been admitted for drug abuse complications on more than one occasion previously. While waiting for x-rays of his left leg which appears broken, Mr. Jones complains of “extreme pain” and asks for pain-relieving medication. The emergency physician will not write an order for pain medication stating Mr. Jones is an “addict with a preference for pain medications. What do you do? Should you risk going against the doctor’s instructions? How would you accurately measure the patient’s pain level? What characteristics of the patient’s pain should be assessed? What nonverbal behavior would indicate the patient is in pain?
