Introduction The assessment and management of pain have not only been a controversial topic within the fields of clinical and nursing but have also been dogged by challenges. The particular reasons behind this scenario are not hard to discern. Palliative care presents numerous challenges to the nursing fraternity given the complexity posed by the different types of medical complications. The ability to carry out pain assessment and management determines to large extent the capacity to deal with the effects and symptoms of the disease. It must be pointed out that unless clinicians and nurses are equipped with skills and tools to assess pain, they may be deprived of the capacity to maintain the pain on patients. Acute pain is often as lethal as an epidemic. The preceding events and factors that cause it are mostly unpleasant and the fact is it is more widespread than anticipated. Causes of pain consist of serious accidents such as fire or car accidents, physical assaults such as rape as attempted rape, and diseases that affect the natural functioning of the body. Victims of these conditions at times believe that there is no solution but the management of pain involves a proper appreciation of one’s status, developing a trusting relationship with one’s therapist, understanding one’s diagnosis, and stabilizing one’s self at the expense of uncovering the unpleasant memories (Davis, Weissman, & Arnold, 2004). One must come to the reality that to manage pain, there is the need to understand that the patient is saving his/her life and thus concerted effort must be put to dilute the adverse effects of this pain. This explorative essay seeks to discuss the aspects of pain assessment and pain management. Towards this end, critical enablers and barriers to effective pain assessment and management of pain in a client with an eventually fatal condition will be dissected. In addition to the above, effective approaches to pain management will also form part of this essay, and a strong conclusion is given based on the discussion within this essay. Overview of pain Beck (2005) and Hanks Nugent, Higgs, and Busch (2004) define pain as “a sensation that everyone perceives after an injury has occurred to the body.” Most forms of the pains that are perceived by people have theoretical origins from the organic illnesses of the body. Several kinds of literature have provided varying degrees on the analysis of aspects of pain. However, one fact remains clear; the intensity of pain perceived by an individual depends on several factors that are directly related to the levels of injury. In addition to the above, there are different types of pain. For example, organic pain draws its origin from the psychological nature of human beings. According to Given, Given, Rahbar, Jeon, McCorkle, Cimprich, Galecki, Kozachik, Brady, Fisher-Malloy, Courtney, and Bowie (2004) , “pain signals that are transmitted along with neuronal system different than other signals in the nervous system by their ability to sustain the strength of quality and magnitude.” The concept of pain is understood to arise from the damage caused to tissue which releases chemicals that stimulate pain receptors in the affected parts of the body (Boswell & Cole, 2006).