Managing Pain Expectations

[Guest guest]

Regarding outpatient therapy and managing pain expectations:

How do others discuss and manage expectations of anticipated pain during

therapy, particularly as it relates to some higher pain diagnoses such as

outpatient burns and wound care?

Our team here discussses pain with each patient upon arrival to the clinic,

throughout interventions and at the end of the session. Our therapists also

encourage patients to take their prescribed pain medications prior to arriving

to therapy. We offer relaxation cds and a quiet treating area, will discuss

difficult pain management cases with the patient's MD direct and our pain RN

resources. We review with the patient a handout on communicating their pain to

us.

On our Press Ganey survey, the question asks " How well was your pain

controlled? " We've fluctuated monthly towards the top of the survey and have

also landed in last place.

Anyone have good scripting or processes with managing/discussing pain that

they'd be willing to share with our team?

Thank you....

Schrader, PT

Bronson Methodist Hospital

Kalamazoo, Michigan

schradeb@...