A male patient has begun to complain of pain in his incision site. The nurse is to administer morphine sulfate 2 mg IV. What step of the nursing process is the nurse using?

• A. Assessment
• B. Intervention
• C. Planning
• D. Evaluation

Answer: (B)

Carrying out planned actions to address a patient problem is the implementation, or intervention, phase of the nursing process. Administering morphine sulfate IV to relieve incision pain is exactly putting the analgesia plan into effect, which is the intervention step. The nurse would have already assessed the patient's pain and developed a plan for analgesia, and after giving the medication would reassess pain to gauge effectiveness, which is how evaluation follows the intervention.