Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026

Author Spotlight: Quantifying Pain Experience – An Illustrative Approach Using the Pain Body Diagram
Published on: July 7, 2023
Pain as the fifth vital sign: exposing the vital need for pain education
Natalia E Morone1, Debra K Weiner
1Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Division of General Internal Medicine, Center for Research on Health Care, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Abstract:
The push to evaluate pain in patients as exemplified by the fifth vital sign has exposed serious deficits in practitioner education and training in pain assessment and management because patient report of pain level has become commonplace in clinical practice. The rapid increase in prescription opioid medications suggests that practitioners are trying to address their patients' pain by prescribing opioids. However, the increase in prescription opioids has also been associated with an increase in prescription opioid-related unintended deaths. In clinical practice, the fifth vital sign has proven to be more complex to assess, evaluate, and manage than originally anticipated. Expanding pain education and training is critical to remedying some of the issues the routine report of pain by patients has uncovered.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Pain
Blood and Nerve Supply to the Bones
Nutrient Artery
The nutrient artery is the main blood vessel that enters the diaphysis via the nutrient foramen. While most long bones have only one nutrient foramen, large bones, such as the femur, may have two. This...
Analgesia and Pain Management
Nociception
Peripheral Artery Disease IV: Nursing Management
Introduction to Vital Signs
Vital signs help healthcare professionals assess an individual's well-being and detect any functional changes...

