Assessment of pain as the fifth vital sign: opinion of nurses

Objective: To analyze the implementation of the assessment of pain as the fifth vital sign in a teaching hospital. Methods: Quantitative research using semi-structured questionnaire applied to 188 technicians and nursing assistants working in five inpatient units of a large teaching hospital located in municipality of Londrina-PR. Results: About 79.0% of professionals reported assessing pain as a sign of life; patient welfare was the most mentioned reason. The lack of understanding of the patient about the pain intensity scale was the main difficulty (77.6%). For 64% of professionals, the hospital encourages the assessment of pain and as a suggestion, 49% of professionals reported the need for courses and training. Conclusion: The inclusion of pain as the fifth vital sign was accepted by the nurses. It highlights the need for nursing work in the supervision and training, and the readjustment of the pain measurement scale.