An oriented patient has recently had surgery. Which action is best for the nurse to take to assess this patient's pain?

A) Assess the patient's body language.
B) Ask the patient to rate the level of pain.
C) Observe the cardiac monitor for increased heart rate.
D) Have the patient describe the effect of pain on the ability to cope.

One of the most subjective and therefore most useful characteristics for reporting pain is its severity. Therefore, the best way to assess a patient's pain is to ask the patient to rate the pain. Nonverbal communication, such as body language, is not as effective in assessing pain, especially when the patient is oriented. Heart rate sometimes increases when a patient is in pain, but this is not a symptom that is specific to pain. Pain sometimes affects a patient's ability to cope, but assessing the effect of pain on coping assesses the patient's ability to cope; it does not assess the patient's pain.