Prior to surgery, patients should be told by their surgeon and preadmission nurses about the functional goals of postoperative care and the importance of being comfortable enough to accomplish those goals with relative ease (also called comfort-function goal). For example, patients need to breathe deeply, cough, and ambulate or participate in physical therapy during the postoperative period. It is important to remind patients when establishing a comfort-function goal that pain ratings above a 3/10 have been found to interfere with optimal activity (McCaffery, Herr, & Pasero, 2011). Although it is not always possible to achieve a patient’s pain rating goal in the short time a patient is in the PACU, the goal provides direction for pain treatment during the continuum of care.