Pain assessment. The problem of pain in the critically ill patient

In the face of maintaining airways and providing circulatory support, pain assessment may be given a low priority in the critical care unit. On the contrary, given the deleterious effects pain may have for the critically ill or injured patient, pain assessment must be given a high priority to develop effective management plans. In addition to assessing the patient's pain, critical care nurses must be acutely aware of their own personal biases and how those biases might influence perceptions of the patient's suffering.