Breaking down miconceptions using analogies
The misconceptions Pain is sometimes left under-controlled just because a team is not gathering all the information they need to find the right interventions. There is a huge misunderstanding that symptom screening is the same as symptom assessment. In best practice, these are two different processes that are meant to fit together in a specific way: a patient that screens positive for a symptom then has that symptom assessed. The screening and assessment might be done by different people but information from both are needed to find ways to control the pain, sometimes with medications. Choosing the right medication including at what dose and how many times a day, depends a lot on extra information an assessment gives you. This is where the breakdown happens: when screening, which provides less information, is mistaken for assessment, the team lacks the important information that is needed to figure out how to relieve the pain. Analogy- it is like going to a mammogram. It can tell u...