Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D.
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To the medical professionals out there. Please stop asking folks to rate pain on a 10pt scale. It’s subjective and facilitates medical racism.

Instead, ask them to describe the pain. Ask about the qualities of pain.

Is it throbbing, shooting, aching, burning, etc. #ChronicPain
04:17 PM - Feb 18, 2023
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Rebecca Newell
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Yes!
01:29 PM - Feb 17, 2024
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Mary Cole
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Good comments on the "1-10 pain scale" - one person's 5 is another's 8 and so on. Stupid subjective system.
03:43 PM - Jan 03, 2024
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Jackie S.
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Every month my pain mgmt Dr asks the same question & my response is almost always the same - 10 at its worst, 6 at its best, 7.5/8 on average.

Doesn’t have any effect on my treatment, meds or anything else. Its a worthless question to take up time.
08:51 AM - Nov 16, 2023
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KLFDetroit
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In response to Jackie S..
Seeing most Dr.s is just plain repetitive.
09:00 AM - Nov 16, 2023
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Cheryl Taylor
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Thank you for this Doc 👍️👍️👍️👍️
11:09 PM - Oct 17, 2023
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Jennifer Moore Baker
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Thank the hospital accreditation folks for that. They decree what system is used and health providers have to use it.
09:57 PM - Oct 07, 2023
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EctopicLib
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Pain assessment does include the quality.
09:51 PM - Aug 18, 2023
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Deb
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
I do all that plus define that 5 interferes with sleep while a 7 prevents it altogether. My docs appreciated understanding my scale.
04:55 PM - Aug 18, 2023
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Donna
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Retired. But when I worked, it had to be recorded that way. Pain meds dispensed that way. It is the powers that be that have said to rate pain that way. And it is the stupidest system. Someone who has never worked with actual patients.
04:54 PM - Aug 16, 2023
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Rick S
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
There needs to be a way to track subjective pain severity

1 to 10 is annoying & imprecise & can be misused by stupid providers — but it’s not useless

1. What alternative is there?

2. Why is asking for a self rating of pain intensity racist? Is asking about pain character & location also racist?
08:24 AM - Aug 01, 2023
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Alexsandra Stewart
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
I didn’t know the 1-10 scale facilitates medical racism. I appreciate knowing that. I’ve always thought it made no sense! What is a level anyway? Is 10 measurable some way? Going to take your suggestion next time I have any and describe how it feels to me.
06:14 PM - Feb 18, 2023
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KT Madsen
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Nursing assessment of pain always included location, duration, description/type of pain, in addition to intensity. We also asked what made it better and worse. Not sure when they switched to this meaningless shorthand version.
06:11 PM - Feb 18, 2023
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LH Grant
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Totally.
06:05 PM - Feb 18, 2023
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Jennifer Moore Baker
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Trying to quantify pain is difficult, because it depends on your personal experience. For a young healthy person that has never been injured, a skinned knee is the worst pain they have ever felt. For a senior that has had multiple surgeries, it's a much higher level. Pain is personal.
04:34 PM - Feb 18, 2023
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Just Vicki
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In response to Jennifer Moore Baker.
exactly. I've had some truly horrific pain in the past, so a 5 for me may be someone else's 9. Sometimes I try to estimate how someone without a chronic pain condition might think of the pain and answer that way but it's still so arbitrary
08:02 PM - Aug 09, 2023
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tedi
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
Thank you!
04:26 PM - Feb 18, 2023
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Karen Wynter
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
I was in the hospital in January (again). That 1-10 pain scale got annoying pretty fast! I was asked one night and I said '6'. She said my pain 'wasn't high enough' for her to give me anything, and then left.
04:26 PM - Feb 18, 2023
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Robert Westbrook, Aircraft and Accordion Repair
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In response to Karen Wynter.
And if you say "10" you're "drug-seeking."
06:04 PM - Feb 18, 2023
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Katherine McNeil
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In response to Bedford Palmer II, Ph.D..
I agree with you. This old grandma has severe ADHD and Aspergers. I am one of those people who has a difficult time with guesstimating anything. If you ask me how tall a tree is I know 5 feet, 10 feet but anything over that I don't have a clue. Same with the 1-10 pain scale. Thank you for this post.
04:23 PM - Feb 18, 2023
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