43). The pain assessment guidelines set forth in this article will have an immediate effect on my first encounter with a patient, particularly if that patient is a chronic pain sufferer or end-of life patient. The sixth defined responsibility in the INPA is also of particular importance in regards to the information contained in this article; this is the responsibility to "evaluate with the patient/client the status of the goal achievement as a basis for reassessment" (INPA, 2007, p. 43). The evaluation of pain and the assessment of necessary and reasonable care in end-of-life patients is a complex task, as this article points out, so the implications of this article's information on this task of the registered nurse are huge. Its affects on the practical nurse are similar, though heightened. Many of the basic responsibilities of the registered nurse and the practical nurse are the same; for instance, the language of the fifth defined responsibility...

44). Practical nurses do have the added responsibility of ensuring "for patient/client participation in health promotion," which is again made more complex in end-of-life and chronic pain situations (INPA, 2007, p. 44; Sherman et al., 2004). The implications of this article's information for practical nurses, then, is even greater than for registered nurses as they are more primarily responsible for helping the patient in terms of self-assessment, which is a key ingredient in pain assessment and management (Sherman et al., 2004). In general, however, both nurses are affected largely the same by this information.
References

Indiana Code and Indiana Administrative Code. (2007). Indiana nurse practice act.

Sherman, D., Matzo, M., Pace, J. & R. Virani. (2004). "Learning pain assessment and management: A goal of the end-of-life…