Four clients request pain medication within dosing window; after last dose, relief occurred; currently, which patient should receive analgesia first?

• A. The client whose pain is 1 out of 10.
• B. The client whose pain is 4 out of 10.
• C. The client whose pain is 0 out of 10.
• D. The client whose pain is 6 out of 10.

Answer: (D)

When deciding who should receive analgesia first, address the patient with the greatest pain intensity. A pain score of 6 out of 10 indicates substantial distress and the highest priority for relief among the four. Relieving the most severe pain first helps prevent further pain escalation, reduces the body’s stress response, and restores comfort more effectively than treating someone with lower pain scores. After addressing that patient, you would attend to the others in order of their pain levels (4, 1, and 0) while monitoring for safety and effectiveness of the analgesia.