Some clinicians find the SOCRATES acronym helpful for asking a patient more about their pain:
Site, Onset, Character, Radiation, Associated symptoms, Timing, Exacerbating and relieving factors, Severity.
You may also want to consider:
- Perioperative analgesia and medication history
- Investigations and interventions so far
- Occupation, including hobbies and interests
- Impact of pain on life, mood, sleep, relationships
- How she manages her pain
- Her understanding of pain and her expectations of the pain service
- What might you look for on examination of the patient?
- Would you ask for any further investigations?
