Aim: To describe how healthcare professionals perceive the use of pain scales in postoperative care. Background: Pain scales are important but not an obvious choice to use in postoperative care. No study has explored how healthcare professionals experience the use of pain scales. Methods: An explorative design with a phenomenographic approach was used. The sample consisted of 25 healthcare professionals. Semistructured interviews were performed. Results: Four descriptive categories emerged - the use of pain scales facilitated the understanding of postoperative pain, facilitated treatment, demanded a multidimensional approach and was affected by work situations. Conclusions: Healthcare professionals described that pain scales contribute to the understanding of patient's postoperative pain. It is important to ensure patient understanding and be aware about variations in pain ratings. Dialogue and observations are necessary to be certain what the ratings mean to the patient. The use of pain scales depends on patient's needs and organization. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.