Physician and Nurse Perspectives on Pain Expression, Expectations, and Visual Analog Scale Use in Romania: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Effective pain assessment is essential for postoperative care.Understanding how healthcare providers perceive pain assessment and management can guide improvements in clinical practice, especially where cultural attitudes and resources may vary.This study evaluated healthcare professional perspectives on the usefulness of the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), patients' pain expression, and postoperative expectations in a Romanian public hospital. Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted in June 2025 at Spitalul Județean de Urgență Mavromati Botoșani, Romania.Physicians and nurses from multiple specialties completed a translated questionnaire.Surveys were distributed across departments and collected after one week.Outcomes included perceptions of VAS effectiveness, patient pain expression, and patient postoperative pain.Results: One hundred healthcare professionals (32 physicians, 68 nurses) completed the survey.Providers moderately agreed that the VAS is effective, with nurses reporting more frequent use than physicians.Romanian patients were perceived to express pain openly.Providers moderately disagreed that males report less pain than females and moderately agreed that patients tend to exaggerate pain.Patients were perceived to expect postoperative pain, yet often were surprised by its intensity, were moderately informed preoperatively about pain management, and frequently requested stronger analgesics postoperatively.Pain complaints were investigated promptly.Conclusions: Providers viewed the VAS as moderately effective.Patients were viewed as openly expressing pain, often expecting postoperative discomfort yet underprepared for its severity, and frequently requesting stronger analgesia.Cultural and educational factors influenced pain expression, underscoring the need to pair standardized assessment tools with improved preoperative education and patient-centered communication.