Skip to main content
RNAO home page
Language caret icon
  • English
  • Français
  • Spanish
  • Chinese, Simplified
Login

Main navigation

  • About
    • Who we are
    • Board of Directors
    • Collaborative Spaces
    • Chapters, Regions & Interest Groups
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Careers at RNAO
    • Education funding
    • Our history
    • Contact us
  • Membership
    • Nurses' Stories
    • Membership
    • Join/Renew
    • Fees
    • Membership benefits
    • Promotions
    • Professional liability protection (PLP)
    • Legal Assistance Program (LAP)
    • Resolutions
    • Registered Nurses, Clinical Nurse Specialists
    • Nurse Practitioners
    • Undergraduate Nursing Students
    • RNCareers.ca
    • Membership FAQ
  • Policy & political action
    • Toolkits
    • Enhancing Community Care for Ontarians (ECCO)
    • Policy & political action
    • Action alerts
    • Federal election platform
    • Provincial election platform
    • Issues
    • Policy reports
    • Policy submissions
    • Position statements
    • Policy letters
    • Policy library
  • BPG & BPSO
    • RNAO research unit
    • Open library
    • NQuIRE®
    • BPG & BPSO
    • Best Practice Guidelines
    • Best Practice Spotlight Organizations
    • Advanced Clinical Practice Fellowships
    • RNAO Clinical Pathways
    • Best Practice Champions Network®
    • Mental Health & Substance Use Program
    • Youth Wellness Champions
    • Long-term care program
    • Leading Change Toolkit
  • Newsroom
    • Newsroom
    • Media releases
    • Latest news
    • Video
    • RNAO in the news
    • RNJ
  • Events
    • All events
    • Annual general meeting
    • Archived webinars
    • BPSO Global Summit
    • Queen's Park Day
    • Nursing Week
    • Sponsorship
    • Fall tour
    • Take your MPP to work
    • Queen's Park on the Road (QPOR)
  • In Focus
    • LTC Program & RNAO
    • RNs, CNSs & RNAO
    • NPs & RNAO
    • Substance use, mental health and RNAO
    • Nurses' health and wellbeing
    • In focus
    • Black nurses and RNAO
    • Climate and the environment and RNAO
    • Health Equity Consortium
    • 2SLGBTQI+ and RNAO
    • Indigenous health and RNAO
  • Join/Renew
  • MyRNAO
RNAO.ca
  • Join
  • Menu
RNAO home page

Main navigation

  • About
    • Who we are
    • Board of Directors
    • Collaborative Spaces
    • Chapters, Regions & Interest Groups
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Careers at RNAO
    • Education funding
    • Our history
    • Contact us
  • Membership
    • Nurses' Stories
    • Membership
    • Join/Renew
    • Fees
    • Membership benefits
    • Promotions
    • Professional liability protection (PLP)
    • Legal Assistance Program (LAP)
    • Resolutions
    • Registered Nurses, Clinical Nurse Specialists
    • Nurse Practitioners
    • Undergraduate Nursing Students
    • RNCareers.ca
    • Membership FAQ
  • Policy & political action
    • Toolkits
    • Enhancing Community Care for Ontarians (ECCO)
    • Policy & political action
    • Action alerts
    • Federal election platform
    • Provincial election platform
    • Issues
    • Policy reports
    • Policy submissions
    • Position statements
    • Policy letters
    • Policy library
  • BPG & BPSO
    • RNAO research unit
    • Open library
    • NQuIRE®
    • BPG & BPSO
    • Best Practice Guidelines
    • Best Practice Spotlight Organizations
    • Advanced Clinical Practice Fellowships
    • RNAO Clinical Pathways
    • Best Practice Champions Network®
    • Mental Health & Substance Use Program
    • Youth Wellness Champions
    • Long-term care program
    • Leading Change Toolkit
  • Newsroom
    • Newsroom
    • Media releases
    • Latest news
    • Video
    • RNAO in the news
    • RNJ
  • Events
    • All events
    • Annual general meeting
    • Archived webinars
    • BPSO Global Summit
    • Queen's Park Day
    • Nursing Week
    • Sponsorship
    • Fall tour
    • Take your MPP to work
    • Queen's Park on the Road (QPOR)
  • In Focus
    • LTC Program & RNAO
    • RNs, CNSs & RNAO
    • NPs & RNAO
    • Substance use, mental health and RNAO
    • Nurses' health and wellbeing
    • In focus
    • Black nurses and RNAO
    • Climate and the environment and RNAO
    • Health Equity Consortium
    • 2SLGBTQI+ and RNAO
    • Indigenous health and RNAO
  • Join/Renew
  • MyRNAO
  • Login
Language caret icon
  • English
  • Français
  • Spanish
  • Chinese, Simplified

Numeric Pain Scale (NRS)

A pain rating scale used to determine a persons level of pain.

Scored 0-10 with the anchors of 0 being ‘no pain’ and 10 being ‘pain as bad as it can be’ Used in adults, older adults, and adolescents and children over age 8.
Well established evidence of reliability, validity, and ability to detect change
No equipment is needed to administer this measure
High feasibility (quick and easy to use)

Reference: McCaffery, M., Beebe, A., et al. (1989). Pain: Clinical manual for nursing practice, Mosby St. Louis, MO

Visit resource Share resource

Related resources

Document
Example preventative care bundle: Appendix F

View resource

External link
Description of the Leading Change Toolkit: Appendix M

View resource

External link
RNAO BPG - Diabetic foot ulcers: Prevention, assessment and management, Third edition

View resource

RNAO coaches can help

Through collaborations with LTC homes, our team of coaches work towards improving resident care and promoting positive workplaces by implementing RNAO’s clinical and healthy work environment best practice guidelines.

Contact a coach

Identify where you can improve

Use RNAO's gap (opportunity) analysis tool to help identify where evidence-based best practice recommendations can improve your organization's current practice.

Gap (opportunity) analysis
From: Diabetic foot ulcers: Prevention, assessment and management
Gap (opportunity) analysis
From: Pressure injury management: Risk assessment, prevention and treatment
Registered Nurses Association of Ontario
  • Contact us
  • 416-599-1925
    1-800-268-7199 (toll-free)

Let's be social

Footer

  • Land acknowledgement
  • Careers at RNAO
  • Education funding
  • Nursing jobs on RNCareers.ca
  • eLearning

Legal menu

  • Privacy policy
  • AODA

© 2026 RNAO. All rights reserved.