A 52-year-old male client is admitted to the medical-surgical unit with a 3-day history of sharp, nonradiating epigastric pain and vomiting.

A 52-year-old male client is admitted to the medical-surgical unit with a 3-day history of sharp, nonradiating epigastric pain and vomiting. He tells the nurse that he hasn’t seen any blood in his stool and that he usually drinks a six-pack of beer a day. In trying to pinpoint the cause of the client’s pain, which action would the nurse take? Rate the client’s pain on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the most severe. Ask the client to tell her more about the pain. Ask the client to compare this pain with the most severe pain he’s ever experienced. Ask the client if there was ever a time during those 3 days when he did not have pain.