Many healthcare workers become jaded by taking care of patients who regularly abuse drugs and seek more potent medications during their admissions (oftentimes saying they have an “allergy” to more traditional analgesics).

I’m not naive to this; however, as an anesthesiologist, I’m also very mindful of appropriate pain management in the OR and ICU settings. Every patient should be treated individually, and consideration must be given that we are undertreating pain based on the clinical situation, tolerance, drug metabolism, etc.

Drop me a comment with your thoughts and experiences below!