Pain is (or may not be) what the patient says it is — professional commitments: objects of study or sacrosanct givens?

This chapter’s focus on pain highlights a problem of general concern. Following Zurn (2021), it is presumed that curiosity (critical thinking/argument) is subject to socio-cultural and political constraints. And, to restate, mindful of these constraints, critical thinking can be blocked or discouraged by nurse educators when this disposition and activity menaces professional values and practices associated with those values.