SOCRATES is amnemonicacronym used byemergency medical services,physicians,nurses, and otherhealth professionals to evaluate the nature ofpain that apatient is experiencing.
SOCRATES is used to gain an insight into thepatient's condition, and to allow thehealth care provider to develop a plan for dealing with it.[1][2] It can be useful for differentiating betweennociceptive pain andneuropathic pain.[3]
SOCRATES only focuses on the physical effects of pain, and ignores the social and emotional effects of pain.[4]
| Letter | Aspect | Example Questions |
|---|---|---|
| S | Site | Where is the pain? Or the maximal site of the pain. |
| O | Onset | When did the pain start, and was it sudden or gradual? Include also whether it is progressive or regressive. |
| C | Character | What is the pain like? Anache? Stabbing? |
| R | Radiation | Does the pain radiate anywhere? |
| A | Associations | Any other signs orsymptoms associated with the pain? |
| T | Time course | Does the pain follow any pattern? |
| E | Exacerbating / relieving factors | Does anything change the pain? |
| S | Severity | How bad is the pain? |
SOCRATES is often poorly used by health care providers.[5] Although pain assessments usually cover many or most of the aspects, they rarely included all 8 aspects.[5]